•  T/TlT  TP\TF 

\JUUKJ\j 

loOQ 


a*. 


AU]M;  HENDERSON, 
LOS  ANd£L£S, 
CALIF. 


STARTINC    FOR  THK    DKSK.KT,    ASSOI/AX. 


A  WINTER 
JOURNEY 


To  the  Western  Islands, 
Madeira,  Gibraltar,  Italy, 
Egypt,  The  Holy  Land, 
Turkey  and  Greece. 


APOLOGIA 


TT  is  the  purpose  of  this  unpretentious  little  diary  to 
offer  in  very  sketchy  form  or  outline  the  experiences 
of  two  Americans  traveling  from  the  United  States  to 
the  Holy  Land  and  vicinity  and  return.  The  writers 
have  no  lessons  moral,  social  or  economic  to  point  from 
the  results ;  they  speak  of  the  world  "with  thankfulness 
as  they  find  it  in  their  daily  orhit.  The  Artificer  of 
the  Universe  still  is  in  full  charge,  and  He  doeth  all 
things  well.  From  the  finite  point  of  view,  the  world 
may  seem  to  he  at  sixes  and  sevens,  hut  may  not  this 
inconclusive  conjecture  result  from  restricted  observa- 
tion of  the  entire  plan  rather  than  from  faults  inherent 
in  the  plan  itself?  Experience  seems  to  confirm  that 
"  whatever  is,  is  right,  and  that  "  whatever  happens  in 
life,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least,  happens  of  necessity  ;" 
and  the  postulate  that  "it  is  better  to  fall  with  many 
bruises  trying  to  fly,  than  to  creep  forever  unhurt," 
finds  many  ardent  believers. 

CLARA   BIDDLE  DAVIS, 
SEYMOUR   DAVIS. 


"  MENDERS  ON, 
LOS  ANGELES, 
CALIF. 

1S2<1<162 


Of. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

January  Ninth,  1909. 

E  are  now  two  hundred  miles  on  our 
way  towards  the  Promised  Land.  MVe 
left  Philadelphia  yesterday,  passing  the 
night  at  the  Manhattan  Hotel,  New 
YorK/O  NA'  e  were  early  awake  and  on 
our  way  to  the  pier,  hut  hy  no  means 
the  first  to  arrive.  There  was  a  wait  of  some  two 
hours  hefore  sailing,  and,  after  hestowmg  our  haggage, 
and  arranging  for  seats  in  the  dining  salon,  we  comfort- 
ahly  settled  down  to  enjoy  the  variegated  appearance  of 
the  crowd  of  passengers  and  the  friends  who  had  come 
to  see  them  off.  As  the  hour  for  sailing  approached  the 
"  Cedric  — a  large  and  comfortable  sea  hoat  of  21,000 
tons — became  so  densely  packed  -with  enthusiastic  trav- 
elers that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  we  were  able  to 
move  about  &  Kind  friends  had  not  forgotten  us,  as  our 
stateroom  decked  with  exquisite  American  .Beauties 
testified,  not  to  speak  of  pabulum  for  the  sweet-tooth, 
and  the  ever-gladdening  letters  and  telegrams  of  bon 
"voyage  and  good  wishes.  Have  you  ever  made  an  ocean 
voyage  ?  Then  you  know  something  of  the  high  heart 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


beats  and  exhiliration  that  accompany  last  good  byes  as 
the  whistle  blows  for  visitors  to  go  ashore.  After  muck 
•waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  puffing  of  tug  boats  the 
good  skip  "  Cedric  finally  was  beaded  toward  tbe 
open  sea,  and  tben  we  bad  more  time  to  look  about  us 
and  study  tbe  people  witb  whom  we  were  to  make  tbe 
voyage,  and,  according  to  tbe  dictates  of  fancy,  decide 
who  of  tbem  will  be  pleasurable  to  know^VTbe  pas- 
senger capacity  of  tbe  "  Cedric  is  filled  to  its  limit  of 
four  bundred  First  Class  ;  and  probably  a  thousand  boxes 
and  baskets  of  flowers  and  fruit  bear  testimony  of  tbe 
loving  good  wisbes  of  relatives  and  friends  left  behind. 
This  profusion  of  fruit  and  flowers  means  several  days 
display  on  dining  tables  and  in  otber  parts  of  tbe  smp  of 
rare  and  beautiful  exotics-O 

January  Tentb. 

E  bad  first  cboice  of  sittings  in  tbe  dining  salon, 
but  as  popular  preference  seems  to  extend  to  tbe 
second  table,  with  its  lazier  bours,  we  chose  tbat  of  tbe 
Captain,  directly  in  tbe  center  of  tbe  salon  and  tbe 
cynosure  of  general  attention.  \Ve  are  a  select  few, 
and  Clara  is  tbe  only  member  of  tbe  fair  sex  in  tbe 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


group,  which  includes  Mr.  Thomas  Clark,  artist  and 
sculptor  of  New  York  city,  en  route  for  Genoa  to  meet 
his  family.  Three  hardy  antiques  from  far  away 
Flint,  Minnesota,  together  with  several  other  interesting 
personalities,  including  the  well-known  lecturer,  Mr. 
Dwight  Elmendorf,  -who  has  traveled  the  Big  Pond  so 
often  that  he  can  "  splice  the  main  trace  and  "  hox  the 
compass  with  neatness  and  dispatch.  Fine  -weather 
prevailed  all  day.  Sea  smooth^* 

January  Eleventh. 

nHE  day  -was  devoted  to  reading  up  "  Egypt  for 
profitable  instruction.  Have  hecome  acquainted 
with  some  very  agreeable  and  interesting  fellow  voy- 
agers, including  the  Stewarts,  of  Philadelphia,  the  Dil- 
lenhacks,  Mrs.  Herring,  and  the  Fields  of  St.  Paul,  not 
to  forget  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Winkle,  of  Newark, 
New  Jersey. 


8  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

January  Twelfth. 

2V  NOTHER  perfect  Jay,  spent  in  playing  games  on 

deck,  varied  with  reading  and   in  swapping  with 

some  of  our  newly  made  acquaintances  the  stories  of  our 

lives.      Isn  t  it  wonderful   now  many  persons  there  are 

with  castles,  and  yachts  and  automobiles  at  home  ? 

January  Thirteenth. 

nO-DAY  was  very  much  like  yesterday ;  passed  in 
the  warm  energizing  sun  and  invigorating  sea  air. 
So  far  the  voyage  has  proved  ideal.  \Ve  wish  our  dear 
ones  at  home  could  realize  for  themselves  its  delights. 
\Ve  are  taking  the  southern  passage,  and  though  only 
four  days  out  find  spring  clothing  comfortable. 

January   Fourteenth. 

PIME  between  meals  to-day  was  largely  devoted  to 
trading  favorite  stories,  pet  jokes  and  puzzles. 
Here  are  some  new  to  us  :  "  The  animals  in  the  zoolog- 
ical garden  decided  to  attend  the  theatre,  hut  upon  ar- 
riving at  the  box  office  found  only  one  dollar  seats  re- 
maining, consequently  of  the  number  present  only  the 
frog  -with  his  green  hack,  the  goose  -with  her  hill  and  the 
lamb  -with  its  four  quarters  were  admitted. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


"A  little  toy  who  with  his  mother — a  lady  of  plethoric 
avoidupois — was  visiting  in  Florida,  received  a  present 
of  a  small  hut  lively  alligator,  -which  he  prized  ahove 
all  other  possessions,  so  much  so  that  one  night  he  cov- 
ertly took  it  to  hed  with  him.  \Vaking  up  during  the 
night  and  missing  it,  he  in  turn  awoke  his  mother  with 
the  admonition  to  *  Be  careful  not  to  roll  over  on  the 
alligator,  mama  •<"• 

"A  gentleman  returning  to  Scotland  for  a  second  sea- 
son s  shooting,  on  meeting  his  former  guide,  remarked 
that  he  was  not  wearing  the  cap  with  ear  tahs  as  for- 
merly, to  which  Sandy  replied  that  since  the  accident 
he  had  worn  no  ear  coverings.  On  being'  asked  to  de- 
scrihe  the  accident,  Sandy  said  :  \Vell  you  see,  sir,  a 
gentleman  that  was  here  last  season  told  me  I  might  take 
a  drink  out  of  his  flask,  and  I  never  heard  him,  so  since 
that  accident  I  keep  my  ears  free. 

"  One  hot  summer  noonday  a  farmer  returning  from 
the  field  for  dinner  observed  a  loaded  hay  wagon  over- 
turned on  the  roadway  in  front  of  his  gate  and  a  lanky 
hoy  trying  to  right  it.  The  farmer  suggested  that  the 
hoy  suspend  labor  and  come  in  to  dinner,  out  he  replied, 
*Pa  might  not  like  it.  He  won't  mind,  said  the  farmer. 


JO  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Come  in.  Still  persisting  that  kPa  might  not  like  it,'  the 
toy  accepted  the  offered  hospitality  and  did  full  justice 
to  the  meal.  After  dinner  was  over  the  farmer  said 
he  was  curious  to  know  why  "  Pa  might  not  like  it,'  to 
which  the  boy  innocently  answered,  "  Cause  pa  is  under 
the  hay. 
\Ve  expect  to  see  land  to-morrow. 

January  Fifteenth. 

TPON  coming  on  deck  the   eye  was   greeted  with  a 

charming  view   of  the   beautiful   island   of   Flores 

(flowers),   one   of    the   \Vestern    Islands,   which   soon, 

however,    was    left    astern,    together    with    Fayal    and 

Pico. 

By  ten  a.  m.  we  were  in  the  harbor  of  Ponta  Delgada, 
the  principal  city  of  the  island  of  San  Miguel,  in  fact, 
the  principal  city  of  the  entire  group.  Prospects  for  a 
pleasant  day  -were  discouraging.  Considerable  mist 
with  rain  was  in  evidence,  but  on  the  sun  forcing  a 
break  for  a  few  minutes,  we  decided  to  risk  a  trip 
ashore,  and  going  down  the  stairway  over  the  ship  s 
side,  made  flying  leaps  into  the  bobbing  little  native 
rowboats  alongside.  The  oarsmen  were  good,  but 


STKKKT    SCKNE    I'oN  I  A     I)KI.<;.\1).\,     SAN    MlCl  Kl.,     A/.ORKS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  \\ 

against  so  rough  a  sea  they  made  slow  headway  to- 
wards the  quay ;  we  were  fortunate,  however,  in  get- 
ting a  line  from  a  passing  tow  boat,  which  expedited  our 
passage  to  the  haven  where  we  would  he.  The  trip 
was  a  disappointment,  however,  in  that  Jupiter  Pluviua 
decided  to  give  us  a  good  wetting.  1\iVe  took  refuge  in 
several  shops  and  also  visited  the  church  into  which 
Christopher  Columhus  after  discovering  the  New  AA^orld 
went  with  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  a  vow  made  during 
a  great  storm,  hut  the  modest  governor  of  the  island 
prevented  its  consummation  «3*  The  islands  had  teen  set- 
tled for  only  some  sixty  years  -when  the  large  capote  of 
dark  blue  cloth  now  in  such  general  use  became  the  fea- 
ture of  the  women  s  costume.  \Ve  thought  of  buying 
one  for  masquerade  parties,  hut,  to  our  surprise,  found 
the  cheapest  quality  to  cost  $30.  The  cloth  is  imported 
from  England,  and  is  quite  expensive ;  we  therefore 
contented  ourselves  with  purchasing  a  small  terra  cotta 
model  of  the  costume  and  a  few  pictorial  post  cards*"* 
Our  stay  on  shore  was  brief ;  in  fact  we  were  glad  to 
return  to  steam  heat  and  dry  garments.  The  rills  of 
rainwater  importantly  increased  the  barter's  rills  of 
revenue,  for  it  was  to  mm  our  clothing  went  to  be 


J2  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

pressed  at  the  modest(?)  honorarium  of  six  shillings  per 
garment.  \Vith  her  nose  pointing  toward  Madeira  the 
good  ship  "  Cedric  "  steamed  away  from  the  Azores  at 
5  p.  m.,  and  once  more  we  settled  down  to  ship  routine. 

January  Sixteenth. 

ITH  the  passage  of  time  we  are  getting  hetter  ac- 
quainted with  our  fellow  voyagers,  and  so  we  hear 
mysterious  rumors  about  men  on  hoard  who  are  said  to 
he  card  sharps  and  gamhlers.  If  there  are  such  men  on 
the  ship  they  look  wonderfully  like  the  average  traveler, 
•which  prohahly  accounts  for  the  ease  with  which  the 
unwary  are  duped.  Sinning  of  all  kinds  is  said  to  he 
pleasant  at  first,  and  probably  the  sin  of  gambling  is 
no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  Have  been  reading 
up  Madeira.  ^We  are  due  to  land  on  that  island  to- 
morrow. 

January  Seventeenth. 

["'HE  news  has  just  reached  us  of  the  disaster  to  the 
"  Republic  " — a  ship  of  this  line — and  feel  prone 
to  congratulate  ourselves  that  -we  left  on  the  "  Cedric 
instead    of    a    week    later.      Madeira    Harbor    offers   a 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J3 


beautiful  vista.  A^e  are  surrounded  by  small  boats 
from  which  native  boy*  dive  for  coins  in  tbe  icy  water. 
Although  it  is  Sunday,  tbe  "  Cedric's  "  decks  bave 
been  converted  into  lace  bazaars,  where  tbe  natives 
expose  for  sale  tbeir  band-embroidered  linens.  AVe 
again  go  ashore,  this  time  in  tenders,  having  purchased 
tickets  from  agents  -who  came  on  board  for  the  purpose. 
The  tickets  cost  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  each,  and 
entitle  the  holder  to  see  the  sights,  including  dinner. 
\Ve  landed  at  a  splendid  pier,  seemingly  a  combination 
of  recreation  and  esplanade  for  all  nations.  A  short 
walk  to  the  nearest  street  introduced  us  to  the  bullock 
cart,  or  carro  de  bois,  as  it  is  known  locally  ;  an  anti- 
quated model  of  Spanish  cabriolet  placed  on  wooden 
runners  and  drawn  by  two  bullocks  led  by  leather 
thongs  threaded  through  the  tips  of  their  horns.  It  re- 
quires two  men  to  navigate  this  sled-carriage  ;  one  to 
direct  the  motive  power  and  one  to  manipulate  the 
grease  bag  -which  from  time  to  time  is  placed  under  the 
runners  to  lessen  friction  with  the  pavement  of  small 
cobble  stones  that  have  been  rubbed  smooth  as  glass. 
In  this  vehicle  we  rode  through  the  interesting  streets 


J4  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

of  Funchal  to  the  cog  railway  that  takes  its  course 
10,000  feet  up  the  mountain  at  the  back  of  the  city. 
It  was  here  we  drank  our  first  glass  of  Madeira  wine. 
The  mountain  ascent  took  us  through  orange  groves  and 
rose  gardens  with  grape  vines  covering  white  pergolas, 
leaving  the  town  and  harbor  at  our  feet.  At  the  sum- 
mit we  left  the  train,  whence  we  were  luxuriously 
carried  in  swinging  hammocks,  suspended  on  poles,  by 
two  men  to  a  hotel  situate  among  beautiful  tropical 
garden*  and  magnificent  gorges,  where  our  luncheon 
consisted  of  real  Portugese  cooking,  supplemented  by 
more  Madeira  wine.  Returning  we  descended  the 
mountain  in  wicker  coasters  with  seats  for  two,  placed 
on  sled-runners  and  guided  by  two  men.  The  descent 
took  us  through  streets  lined  with  white  villas  enclosed 
by  high  stone  walls,  festooned  with  the  wonderful  pur- 
ple Bougainvillea,  looking  over  which  mothers  and  chil- 
dren smiled  at  us  in  our  holiday  enjoyment  and  show- 
ered us  with  gardenias  and  roses.  The  five  mile  de- 
scent was  covered  in  eight  minutes  and  was  novel  in  the 
extreme,  and  most  interesting  as  a  specimen  of  original 
methods  adapted  to  local  conditions.  Taking  an  anti- 
quated tram  car  we  rode  on  to  the  Madeira  House  and 


COASTING   WITHOUT   SNOW,    FUNCHAL,    MADEIRA. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J5 

snops  to  buy  embroidery  and  chairs  ana  a  souvenir 
bottle  of  Madeira  wine.  Here,  on  the  street,  we  met 
an  old  friend  of  Jamaica  days,  Mr.  Randolph  Berens, 
of  London,  who  gave  us  a  pleasurable  surprise  -when  he 
announced  that  he  too  would  hear  us  company  to  Cairo. 

January  Eighteenth. 

yV  BEAUTIFUL  day  indeed;  a  day  of  sunshine 
and  calm.  The  steward  served  on  deck  every 
one  with  white  paper  lace  boats  filled  with  home-made 
butterscotch,  and  it  was  good!  Every  day  there  is  a 
service  of  bonbons  en  surprise. 

January  Nineteenth. 

SSING  T  angiers  early  this  morning  brought  to 
mind  others  days  in  other  years  spent  there  so  pleas- 
urahly.  By  ten  a.  m.  we  were  viewing  the  first  of  the 
ancient  wonders,  the  African  promontory  of  ancient 
Ahyla  and  the  European  Gibraltar,  "  Pillars  of  Her- 
cules. The  well-known  sign  of  our  dollar  ($)  is  ex- 
plained as  representing  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  united 
hy  a  scroll.  Thackary  says  of  the  rock  of  Gibraltar, 
*"  It  is  the  very  image  of  an  enormous  lion  crouched  he- 


16  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

tween  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mediterranean.  '  At  eleven 
a.  m.  \ve  -were  strolling  through  the  Moorish  market, 
and  found  that  our  limited  knowledge  of  Moorish  as 
expressed  in  the  brief  salutation:  " Gif  Koonsy"  was 
smilingly  answered  with  the  "Lev as "  or  yore.  \V^e 
sauntered  along  leisurely  spectators  of  the  half  Spanish 
half  English  street  scenes,  all  unchanged  from  the  visit 
of  seven  years  previous.  Conditions  evolutionize  rap- 
idly in  some  portions  of  the  world  while  in  others 
change  is  slow  indeed,  and  seems  to  he  like  the  change 
of  decay.  Rememhering  the  hotels  of  Gibraltar  from 
former  unfavorable  experience,  we  were  loath  to  im- 
peril digestion,  till  Clara  solved  the  problem  by  suggest- 
ing a  picnic  luncheon  a  la  Boheme,  where  each  selected 
his  preferential  tidbit  and  bought  it  at  the  delicatessen 
shop.  Oh,  such  a  lark!  After  assembling  our  com- 
bined purchases  we  hurried  on  to  the  English  Gardens, 
then  in  fullness  of  bloom,  and  selecting  a  charming 
viewpoint  on  the  stone  resting  place  overlooking  the 
beautiful  blue  Mediterranean  with  its  ships  riding  at 
anchor,  we  began  to  produce  our  gustatory  treasurers. 
1  his  improvised  menu  snowed  sweet  butter  rolls,  fresh 
and  warm;  a  pat  of  new  butter;  a  bottle  of  Spanish 


GIBRALTAR'S    HIGHEST  PKAK. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  17 

olives  ;  a  dainty  packet  or  cola  tongue  ;  slice  or  fresh 
Chedder  cheese ;  bottle  of  Spanish  wine ;  a  tempting 
assortment  of  French  patisserie,  and  lots  of  tangerines, 
with  stems  and  green  leaves  still  attache  d'^AiVe  ate 
like  growing  children,  and  yet  there  was  enough  remain- 
ing to  furnish  a  meal  to  a  beggar  woman  and  child  who 
were  passing.  Oh,  the  wretched  beggars  of  Europe ! 
Thank  God  for  our  own  great  and  free  land,  where  it 
is  possible  for  every  one  to  be  self-supporting.  Pos- 
sessed of  a  comfortable  feeling  of  satisfaction  and  peace 
with  all  the  world,  we  hired  one  of  those  queer  vehicles 
known  as  the  Gibraltar  cabriolet,  and  drove  to  Europa 
Point,  next  crossing  neutral  ground  into  Spanish  terri- 
tory. Here  -we  saw  the  odd  feature  of  a  maze  of 
barbed  wire  fencing,  installed  to  preclude  the  smuggling 
of  tobacco  by  trained  dogs  from  Gibraltar  into  Spain<* 
On  our  way  hack  to  the  "  Cedric "  we  stopped  at 
Benoliel  s  shop  for  a  souvenir  of  this  great  rock  fortress 
commanding  ingress  to  the  Mediterranean. 


18  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

January  Twentieth. 

E  cruised  all  clay  in  eight  of  the  Spanish  Main, 
between  the  .Balearic  Islands  ana  mainland. 
\Vithout  glasses  we  could  plainly  see  the  -white  fishing 
villages,  with  their  high  background  of  green  hills, 
dotted  along  the  coasts* As  yet  every  day  has  been 
ideally  warm,  with  a  smooth  sea.  To-night  the  decks 
were  festooned  with  colored  electric  lights  and  flags  of 
all  nations.  Young  and  old  were  enlivened  with  music 
and  dancing,  concluding  with  refreshments. 

January  Twenty-first. 

Vk  S  we  proceed  toward  Genoa  it  grows  colder.  ^lany 
of  our  passengers,  including  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Dillenhack,  Mrs.  Herring,  Mr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Fields, 
•will  disembark  there.  As  our  -wireless  Marconi  ser- 
vice on  hoard  the  "  Cedric  picked  up  some  communi- 
cations sent  out  hy  the  cruising  fleet  of  American  hat- 
tleships  returning  from  the  trip  around  the  world,  we 
hoped  to  witness  that  unique  spectacle,  hut  although 
nearby  we  missed  them  altogether. 


STATUE  OF  COLUMBUS,    GENOA. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


January  Twenty-second. 

nHE  harbor  of  Genoa  is  well  named  the  Knee  of 
Italy.  \Ve  went  ashore  at  the  early  hour  of 
nine  a.  m.,  and  our  first  act  was  to  change  English  into 
Italian  money.  \Vliile  one  does  not  spend  so  much  of 
it  in  Italy  as  in  some  countries,  still  everywhere  money 
constitutes  the  passepartout.  After  following  Shaks- 
peare's  injunction  to  "  put  money  in  thy  purse,  we 
strolled  through  the  streets  in  leisurely  dolce  far  niente 
mood,  enjoying  the  shop  windows,  Seymour  finally  de- 
ciding to  investigate  the  subject  of  fur  lined  overcoats. 
After  concluding  the  purchase  of  one  we  lunched  at  the 
caf£  Europa,  where  we  saw  the  last  of  our  unpopular 
fellow-passenger,  Mr.  Sanderson,  of  Philadelphia;  he 
of  Harrisburg  Capitol  fame,  convoyed  by  his  wife, 
maid  and  valet-<"»Before  returning  to  our  ocean  house 
boat  (the  "  Cedric,'  )  -we  passed  two  hours  profitably 
seeing  Genoa  from  an  open  carriage. 


20  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

January  Twenty-tkird. 

R  good  skip  took  on  many  new  passengers  at 
Genoa,  including  Mrs.  Mcllvaine,  of  Pkiladel- 
pkia,  and  ner  daughter,  \vkom  \ve  Lad  tke  pleasure  of 
meeting  in  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Seven  in  Bermuda*!* 
Tke  young  Baron  and  Baroness  de  Rothgcmld,  of 
Paris,  bride  and  groom,  are  exciting  a  great  deal  of  in- 
terest on  board.  \Vliat  a  continuous  turning  of  tke 
wkeel  of  fortune  life  is  \  To-day  -we  passed  close  to 
memorable  Corsica  and  Elka.  Seymour  tries  to  per- 
suade Clara  to  remain  in  Italy  until  autumn,  wken  ke 
•will  come  for  ker,  but  Madame  seems  to  be  unfavorable 
to  sudden  decisions*?6 

January  Twenty-fourtk. 

PHE  bay  of  Naples  is  **  a  tking  of  beauty  and  a  joy 
forever."  So  rick  in  inspirational  power.  At 
tke  present  time  Vesuvius  is  as  calm  as  a  sleeping  baby, 
but  ok  \  wkat  potentiality  for  destruction  lurks  beneatk 
tkat  quiet  exterior  \  Distant  Capri  and  Sorrento  are 
featured  beneatk  tke  deep  blue  of  tke  sea  and  tke  azure 
of  tke  sky  witk  tke  brilliant  wkite  of  Naples  as  a  setting. 
Sunday  seems  to  be  religiously  observed  *3*  Notking  on 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  2J 

sale  but  picture  postals.  Nothing  to  do  but  to  drive 
aimlessly  about  the  city  and  lunch  at  the  Gambrmus. 
There  we  bad  our  same  old  table  in  tbe  same  old  place. 
"Nothing  changed  or  older,"  not  even  tbe  hunchback 
"  Good  Luck  Boy,  who  came  to  greet  us.  After  tbe 
usual  Italian  luncbeon  we  strolled  in  tbe  sunshine  along 
tbe  esplanade  and  sea  -wall  and  around  by  tbe  Aqua- 
rium up  to  tbe  bigb  and  narrow  streets  where  tbe 
natives  live  in  tbe  terraced  -walls  of  tbe  •winding  roads. 
Tbe  care  of  tbe  bead  and  hair,  however,  is  performed 
in  a  sitting  posture  on  tbe  curbstones^ 

January  Twenty~f iftb. 

TN  another  two  days  we  shall  be  due  in  tbe  land  of 
the  Pharaohs.  \Ve  are  all  disappointed  tbat  tbe 
steamer  s  course  is  not  tbrougb  tbe  Straits  of  Messina 
(other-wise  Scylla  and  Charybdis),  for  we  should  very 
much  like  to  see  tbe  scene  of  tbe  recent  earthquake  at 
Messina  and  R.eggio,  but  -we  shall  get  a  view  of  tbe 
southern  coast  line  of  Sicily,  where  tbe  Carthageman 
invaders  landed  centuries  ago.  Mount  Etna  will  be 
visible  in  the  distance,  as  also  tbe  island  of  Malta. 


22  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

January  Twenty-sixth. 

OMILING    nature    is    here    with    another    beautiful 
day.      To    borrow    language    from   Mark   Twain, 
"  we  got  up,  washed  and  -went  to  bed  again." 

January  Twenty-seventh. 

last    Jay    on   the    good    ship   "  Cedric."      ^Wc 
have   had  a  most   restful  voyage,  hut  all  the  same 
will  welcome  the  change  to  life  ashore. 

January  Twenty-eighth. 

1LJER.E  we  are  at  Alexandria,  Egypt.  Arrived  at 
eight  a.  m.,  after  having  travelled  Five  Thousand 
Seven  Hundred  and  Sixty-six  nautical  miles.  \VKen 
we  came  on  deck  the  island  of  Pharos  was  in  the  rear 
but  still  in  sight.  It  -was  on  the  island  of  Pharos,  you 
know,  that  there  stood  the  second  of  the  Seven  \Von- 
ders  of  the  world  ;  a  lighthouse  some  six  hundred  feet  in 
heighth.  It  was  here  that  our  friend  Hugh  Rimmgton, 
July  Eleventh  and  Twelfth,  1882,  took  part  in  the 
bombardment  of  the  city  by  the  English  war  ships. 
The  usual  swarm  of  native  porters  and  boatmen  were 
on  the  look  out  for  us,  the  red  fez,  white  tarbush 


PO.MPEY'S  PILLAR,    ALEXANDRIA,   EGYPT. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  23 

and  loose-flowing  galabiyeh  reminding  us  that  we  had 
progressed  into  the  Orient.  Steam  lighter  service  put 
us  ashore  in  three-quarters  or  an  hour,  and  the  Cus- 
toms Officers  -were  expeditious  in  their  work.  Their 
method  of  examination  rather  excited  our  sense  of 
humor.  The  inspectors  seemed  to  he  guided  more  par- 
ticularly by  the  appearance  of  the  baggage,  selecting  for 
examination  such  trunks  as  offered  some  special  feature 
of  attraction.  Our  suspense,  however,  was  brief ;  all 
the  baggage  was  finally  passed,  and  we  found  that  we 
had  to  wait  an  hour  and  a  half  before  departure  of 
the  train  for  Cairo.  Taking  advantage  of  the  delay, 
we  drove  to  Pompey  s  Pillar  and  to  the  Catacombs.  It 
was  from  Alexandria  that  the  obelisks  erected  in  London 
and  New  York  were  obtained.  It  was  here  that  St. 
Mark  preached,  and  here  also  is  the  burial  place  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  The  ride  to  Cairo  through  the 
delta  of  lower  Egypt  was  replete  with  interest;  the 
irrigated  green  fields  of  bercime,  camels  galore,  the 
huffalo  cows  and  native  villages  of  sun-baked  mud  huts 
massed  together  and  surrounded  by  date  palms  and  mud 
•walls,  each  in  turn  offered  the  traveller  its  quota  of 
interest.  On  some  of  the  houses  -were  curiously  rep- 


24  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

resented  what  seemed  to  be  crude  drawings  by  the 
youthful  Arab,  out  on  asking  for  explanation  we  were 
told  that  they  were  the  houses  of  Mohammedans  who 
had  made  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  Such  pilgrims  were 
privileged  to  pictorially  present  on  the  house  front  the 
salient  features  of  the  journey  to  the  sacred  city, 
and  these  features  were  portrayed  after  the  pilgrim  s 
own  manner  and  skill,  hence  the  introduction  of  the 
pink  locomotive,  the  yellow  ship  and  green  camel. 
The  luncheon  served  in  the  dining  car  -was  a  misfit 
failure,  so  -we  fell  hack  on  fresh  dates,  wine  and  oranges 
instead.  After  a  ride  of  three  hours  we  found  our- 
selves -within  the  environments  of  the  City  of  the 
Caliphs  and  the  home  of  the  Arabian  Nights — Cairo. 
\Ve  had  engaged  rooms  from  the  agent  of  Shepheard  s 
Hotel  at  Alexandria,  but  arrived  in  Cairo  only  to 
find  that  no  reservation  for  us  had  been  made  and  that 
Shepheard  s  was  overcrowded;  they,  however,  sent  us  in 
their  carriage  to  another  of  their  hotels — the  Ghizerah 
Palace — which  we  found  to  be  beautiful  but  quite  in 
the  suburbs,  so  we  directed  the  driver  to  the  Hotel 
Savoy,  a  hostelry  Mr.  Berens  had  been  patronizing  for 
twenty -five  years,  and  which  -we  found  to  be  the  best 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  25 

and  most  select  in  Cairo-<V\Ve  secured  an  excellent 
double  room  on  the  second  floor  ;  also  the  Stewarts,  or 
Philadelphia,  were  able  to  obtain  a  beautiful  suite  at 
this  hotel.  Straightway  Mr.  Berens  invited  us  to  see 
the  city  from  his  own  private  carriage,  including  Opera 
Square  and  the  Ezbekiyeh  Gardens,  the  Post  Office, 
Cooks  for  mail  (but  were  disappointed);  then  through 
the  Mouski,  the  oldest  street  in  Cairo,  and  in  due 
course  we  were  introduced  into  the  native  bazaars,  the 
shops  of  Hatoun's  and  Cohen's,  where  we  ate  "  Turk- 
ish Delight  '  while  driving  bargains  ;  in  fact,  as  some 
bargains  occupy  a  day  or  two  in  consummating,  there  is 
ample  time  and  opportunity  .for  eating  meanwhile^* 
These  native  bazaars  offer  some  surprises  to  the  Amer- 
ican eye,  narrow,  crowded — always  picturesque — but 
quite  unlike  any  preconceived  occidental  notions.  M^en, 
•women  and  children  of  all  nationalities,  garbed  in  all 
sorts  of  different  fashions,  pass  up  and  down  through 
devious  passageways  leading  to  and  from  shops  of  every 
kmd«J*On  returning  to  the  hotel  we  -were  chagrined  to 
find  that  our  trunks  had  not  arrived,  feeling  as  we  did 
quite  out  of  place  in  the  dining  salon  with  the  men  in 
evening  clothes  and  the  women  in  stunning  full  dress 


26  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

gowns.     However,  there  was  nothing  for  it  tut  to  com- 
pose our  feelings  and  swallow  our  disappointment. 

January  Twenty-ninth. 

PIS  three  weeks  to-day  since  we  left  home.  \Vhat 
change  of  scene  from  the  quiet  purlieus  of  Phil- 
adelphia! \Ve  had  planned  to  begin  sight  seeing  in 
Cairo  -with  the  Cairo  Museum,  but  to-day  (Friday)  is 
Mohammedan  Sunday,  and  the  Museum  is  closed^ 
Instead  we  have  decided  to  visit  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh. 
Hiring  one  of  the  many  carriages  that  stand  in  front  of 
the  hotel  terrace,  we  drove  across  the  Kasr-el-Nil 
Bridge,  and  there  took  a  tram-car  for  the  village  of 
Gizeh  and  the  Mena  House.  The  carriage  road  from 
Cairo  to  the  Pyramids  runs  through  an  avenue  of 
grand  old  lebbek  trees.  At  Gizeh  we  met  the  ^»Veb- 
sters  ("*  C.  \V.  and  L.  \W),  "Cednc"  friends  from 
Shelby ville.  111.,  their  Bedouin  guide  (one  Abdul  Mula 
Gumati)  carrying  a  wicker  lunch  basket,  in  appearance 
very  like  a  bird  cage.  \Ve  combined  forces,  first 
stopping  at  the  Mena  House,  where  we  had  our  first 
good  view  of  the  Pyramids — another  of  the  ancient 
seven  wonders  of  the  -world.  All  four  of  us  mounted 
camels  led  by  mischievous  Bedouin  camel  hoys,  and 


ROAD  TO  THE  PYRAMIDS  FROM  CAIRO. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  27 

ambled  up  the  steep  white  roadway  to  the  Pyramids  and 
the  Sphinx.  In  addition  to  herself,  Clara  s  camel  also 
carried  the  descriptive  name  of  Dahabiyeh  because  he 
was  such  a  long  swaying  affair,  albeit  a  "  Wile  Express." 
At  first  view  the  Sphinx  was  disappointing.  It  some- 
how seemed  smaller  than  our  expectation,  but  on  closer 
acquaintance  we  were  quite  -willing  to  admit  that  it  is 
indeed  colossal,  especially  after  unsuccessfully  trying  to 
throw  stones  up  to  its  mouth.  \Ve  lined  up  our  camels 
in  front  of  the  Sphinx  and  bad  a  local  photographer  make 
tKe  record.  Nearby  we  visited  some  old  tombs  of  ala- 
baster and  red  granite.  On  camel  back  we  encircled 
the  three  Pyramids,  returning  to  the  Mena  House  for 
luncheon ;  which  hotel,  by  the  way,  is  modern  and  fur- 
nishes an  excellent  menu  jf-  After  a  little  rest  we  went 
in  a  carriage  to  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Cheops,  and, 
•with  the  assistance  of  a  score  of  Arabs,  managed  to 
reach  its  very  tip  top — four  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet 
— where  we  rested,  -wrote  postals  home  and  enjoyed 
unrivaled  views  of  the  Lybian  Desert,  Cairo  in  the 
distance,  the  Mokattan  Mills,  the  Pyramids  of  Sakkara 
at  ancient  Memphis  and  the  beautiful  serpentine  Nile. 
Looking  down  was  indeed  dizzy  -work.  \Ve  took  our 


28  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

coffee  on  the  summit  at  the  schedule  number  of    piasters 
per  cup  ;   coffee  boiled  to  bitterness  yet  de  rigeur.      A 
small  Arab  water    boy  followed"  us  with  suck  persistent 
offerings  of  green,  malarial,  Nile  water  that  we  finally 
decided  to    put    mm    out  of  misery  and  out  of  business 
by  buying  his  -water  bottle  and  contents.      The  contents 
went  to  moisten  the   soil,  -while   the   jug  is  intended  to 
take    its    place  with    other   household    ornaments.      The 
descent    -was    about    as    had    as   the    climb.      The    Arab 
attendants  unwound  their  turbans  and  tied  them  around 
our  waists  the  better  to  hold  us  from  slipping  and  fall- 
ing.     These  attendants  varied  in  age  from  pre-dynastic 
times  down  to  the   urchin  of  seven,  one  and   all  of 
them  out  for  the  ever-craved  backsheesh.    Taking 
camels  as  soon  as  possible,  -we  rode  to  the 
Mena  House   for  refreshing  Ap  oil  mar  is, 
and  on  to  the  train,  -which  quickly 
delivered   us   at   Cairo,  -where 
we  arrived  simply  "  weary 
of  well  doing. 


AT   THK   PYRAMIDS   OK  GIZEH. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  29 

January  Thirtieth. 

PO-DAY  finds  us  extremely  stiff  and  sore  from 
our  hard  riding  and  climbing  of  yesterday— camel 
motion  is  anything  hut  suggestive  of  "  rocked  in  the 
cradle  of  the  deep  " — and  this  morning  we  really  re- 
quired assistance  in  getting  up  and  down.  \Ve  drove 
to  the  Tulun  Mosque,  the  oldest  in  Cairo,  where  the 
visitor  has  pointed  out  to  him  an  interior  frieze  of 
carved  wood  said  to  have  teen  taken  from  Noah  s  Ark. 
Our  dragoman  took  us  on  to  the  Citadel,  and  we  were 
shown  where  the  Mamelukes  were  massacred ;  we 
visited  also  the  Mosque  of  Mohammed  All,  at  which 
place  we  put  on  large  Arah  slippers  over  our  shoes  as 
a  compromise  for  stocking  feet.  From  the  rampart  of 
the  Citadel  we  got  a  fine  view  of  the  city,  and  beyond 
the  Sphinx  and  the  Pyramids.  To  our  right  stood 
desolated  Memphis,  earliest  city  of  the  world,  and  in 
the  opposite  direction  was  pointed  out  the  locality  where 
Napoleon  and  his  army  a  century  hefore  had  won  the 
hattle  of  the  Pyramids  over  the  Mameluke  hordes ; 
originally  a  band  of  slaves,  who  were  afterward  trained 
to  war  by  the  great  Sultan  Saladin.  Next  we  investi- 
gated the  "  Blue  Mosque,  and  saw  the  muezzin  appear 


30  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

on  the  balcony  of  tKe  minaret  and  call  the  faithful  to 
prayer.  Our  guide  being  one  of  the  faitkful,  joined  the 
line  of  kneeling  worshippers,  with  their  faces  turned 
towards  Mecca,  and  who  repeatedly  touched  their  fore- 
heads to  the  ground.  Returning  to  the  hotel  for 
luncheon,  we  afterward  drove  to  the  tombs  of  the 
Caliphs  and  Mamelukes.  Coming  back  we  passed  an 
Egyptian  funeral.  At  such  ceremonies  blind  mourners 
chanting  the  Koran  walk  in  front  of  the  body,  while 
the  corpse  itself  is  supported  head  first  on  the  shoulders 
of  four  men,  covered  with  an  embroidered  cloth,  the 
fez  of  the  deceased  effendi  all  the  -while  nodding  ap- 
proval from  the  top  of  a  head  pole.  The  mourning 
women  cry:  *'O  thou  camel  of  my  house  (camel  being 
symbolical  of  bread-winner).  Our  guide  explained 
that  -where  death  occurs  in  the  morning  the  funeral 
takes  place  the  same  day,  but  -when  it  happens  in  the 
evening  burial  is  postponed  until  the  day  following. 
Rich  men  and  pious  Sheiks  and  Ulamas  are  accorded 
marked  funeral  pomp.  A  buffalo  is  led  at  the  head 
of  the  procession,  afterward  slaughtered  at  the  tomb 
and  its  flesh  distributed  to  the  poor  for  food. 


..-» 


KKMAINS  OK   ANCIKNT    HKLIOPOI.IS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  31 

January  Thirty-first. 

|  HIS  morning  we  stopped  at  our  friend  s,  the  pur- 
veyor of  postal  cards,  and  had  Kim  make  a  bar- 
gain for  ua  in  Arabic  for  a  carriage  to  take  us  to  an- 
cient Heliopolis,  and  after  much  parley  found  ourselves 
covering  the  five  mile  drive  at  a  lively  pace.  Passing 
through  the  suburbs  with  their  variant  phases  of  local 
life,  meeting  -with  English  regiments  of  soldiers,  camel 
trains,  -water  carriers  and  vistas  of  orange  groves  as  we 
approached  the  KJiedival  residence,  interest  was  never 
for  a  moment  lagging.  vv  e  were  much  surprised  at 
seeing  so  many  persons  either  partially  or  totally  blind, 
and  were  told  that  the  superstitious  dread  of  falling 
under  the  baleful  influence  of  the  "  Evil  Eye "  was 
wholly  responsible  for  this  condition.  For  years  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  class  are  not  -washed  because  their 
mothers  are  imbued  with  the  belief  that  if  bathed  and 
made  attractive  they  would  draw  upon  them  the  **  Evil 
Eye  and  be  stricken,  but  instead  of  the  "  Evil  Eye 
their  unclean  faces  attract  hordes  of  flies  and  insects, 
to  be  followed  by  contagious  ophthalmia,  -which  spreads 
from  person  to  person  and  causes  much  loss  of  sight. 
The  "  Evil  Eye  is  kept  off  camels  and  donkeys  by 


32  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

numerous  strings  of  colored  shells  and  beads  tied  around 
their  necks,  and  is  kept  from  the  nouses  by  nailing  stuffed 
alligators  over  the  doors.  Our  first  stop  was  at  the 
Virgin  Tree,  a  large  sycamore,  under  tbe  spreading 
branches  of  which  the  Virgin  and  Cbild  found  rest 
during  their  flight  into  Egypt.  Tbe  present  tree  was 
planted  in  1672,  but  tbe  credulous  still  believe  it  to  be 
directly  descendant  from  tbe  original.  \Ve  took  a  sip 
of  water  from  a  nearby  well,  where  tbe  Holy  Family 
were  said  to  bave  done  their  laundering.  This  is  the  only 
well  in  that  locality  the  water  of  which  is  not  brackish, 
and  its  sweetness  is  said  to  date  from  the  patronage  of 
the  Holy  Family  &  From  thence  we  drove  to  the  obe- 
lisk ;  all  that  remains  of  the  ancient  city  of  Heliopolis 
(City  of  the  Sun).  It  was  here  that  Herodotus  con- 
sorted •with  the  priests,  and  Plato  is  said  to  have  passed 
thirteen  years  in  their  society  studying  their  doctrines. 
The  temple  at  Heliopolis  was  the  most  richly  endowed 
in  all  Egypt,  and  when  about  the  year  Sixty  B.  C., 
Strabo  visited  that  country,  the  apartments  of  Plato 
were  shown  by  the  priests  and  officiating  guides  to  the 
wondering  visitors^* Heliopolis  has  been  the  scene  of 
many  stirring  events,  the  victory  of  tbe  Turks  over 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  33 

the  Mamelukes  occurring  tkere  in  1517,  while  in 
1800  General  Kleher  successfully  led  the  French  forces 
against  the  TurksoFrom  this  place  we  drove  to  the 
ostrich  farm,  where  hundreds  of  these  hirds  of  all  ages 
and  condition  are  raised  and  kept  in  a  circle  or  pen. 
Our  Arah  guide  was  particular  to  fully  explain  the 
points  and  features  of  these  hirds  and  their  feathers,  so 
that  regarding  ostrich  tips  we  feel  somewhat  tipped 
ourselves.  Returning  to  Cairo  hy  way  of  the  hazaars 
we  were,  as  usual,  hesought  on  every  side  to  come  in  and 
huy — filagree  gold,  hammered  trass,  antique  emhroid- 
eries,  turquoises,  rugs,  shawls,  amher,  Indian  and  Persian 
wares,  swords,  native  costumes,  cigarettes,  ivories,  wed- 
ding veils,  funeral  -wreaths,  perfumery — until  we  de- 
livered our  entire  vocabulary  of  Arahic  in  the  compre- 
hensive phrase:  "'•Roth  mm  hinna,"  coupled  with  la!  la! 
la!  which  means,  "Get  away.  No,  no,  no!"  The 
stalls  of  Oriental  hazaars  are  everywhere  similarly 
constructed,  hut  vary  in  size  and  importance.  They 
are  hox-like  in  form,  four  to  six  feet  in  width,  six  to 
eight  feet  in  height,  and  are  raised  one  to  two  feet 
ahove  the  ground,  with  three  sides  enclosed  and  the 
fourth  open  to  the  street  hy  day  hut  closed  at  night. 


34  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

the  fourth  wall  sliding  into  place  like  a  folding  door. 
It  is  said  that  the  scenes  in  the  Turkish  hazaars  on  a  fete 
day  are  like  pictures  from  the  "Arabian  Nights,  the 
hazaars  'being  illuminated  by  many  candles  or  chande- 
liers, and  covered  by  awnings  formed  of  rich  shawls, 
scarfs  and  embroideries  brought  from  the  interior.  This 
gives  each  stall  the  appearance  of  a  reception  room,  the 
proprietor  seated  within  dispensing  hospitality,  and 
everyone  dressed  in  holiday  attire.  The  bazaars  of 
Cairo  constitute  an  important  feature  of  the  life  not 
only  of  that  city  but  of  life  in  general  throughout  the 
Eastern  and  A^festern  Orient. 

February  First. 

PHIS  is  Ashura  Day,  the  day  on  which  Adam  and 
Eve  are  said  to  have  met  for  the  first  time  after 
their  expulsion  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the  day 
on  which  Noah  is  said  to  have  left  the  Ark,  the  day 
also  upon  which  Hosein,  the  grandson  of  the  prophet 
fell  a  martyr  to  his  religion  at  the  battle  of  Kerbela, 
which  event  -will  be  appropriately  celebrated  to-night. 
Our  postal  card  man  not  being  available  this  morning, 
we  fell  back  on  the  services  of  the  druggist,  a  few  doors 


IDLERS  IN  FRONT  OF  BAZAARS,  CAIRO. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  35 

below,  for  Kelp  in  bargaining  in  Arabic  for  a  vehicle  to 
take  us  to  the  old  Copt  churches  in  ancient  Cairo,  say 
an  kour  s  drive  from  tne  hotel  •<"•  The  Copts  are  con- 
sidered fine  representatives  of  the  old  Egyptians,  and 
they  have  succeeded  in  preserving  their  language  and 
liturgy  through  twelve  centuries  of  fierce  oppression. 
Indeed  we  met  with  much  difficulty  in  getting  to  these 
underground  churches.  In  u  crypt  of  the  Church  of 
St.  George  crosses  mark  the  place  -where  ^lary  and 
Joseph  hid  the  Christ  Child  from  Herod's  searchers  o 
On  our  way  back  -we  passed  many  lovely  mushra- 
biyeh  windows,  with  their  intricate  turned  lattice  -work 
designs  in  wood.  They  are  very  frequently  oblong 
projecting  windows  in  which  the  water  bottles  are 
placed  to  cool  by  evaporation.  ^Ve  visited  the  island 
of  Rhoda,  where  Moses  was  discovered  in  the  bul- 
rushes, and  here  is  preserved  the  ancient  nilometer<O 
\Ve  stopped  at  the  little  Kasr-el-Ainy  Mosque  to  see 
the  howling  dervishes,  but  at  that  particular  time  they 
were  not  howling.  The  bazaars  of  the  Mouski  con- 
cluded the  afternoon.  Following  an  invitation  from 
Mr.  Berens,  we  took  a  carriage  soon  after  dinner  to  see 
the  Persian  festival  from  the  balcony  of  a  native  hotel 


36  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

in  tke  Mouski.  During  tke  trip  we  lost  sight  of  Mr. 
Berens  carriage,  and  our  excited  Arab  driver,  under- 
standing no  English,  took  us  hither  and  thither  tkrougk 
dark  and  narrow  oriental  streets,  lighted  only  by  tke 
feeble  rays  of  tke  skop  lanterns,  streets  crowded  witk 
Egyptian  holiday  makers — a  weird  lot ;  tke  men  in 
fezzes  and  tke  women  closely  veiled  ;  all  chattering  an 
incomprehensible  jargon — until  kefore  tke  dark  and 
dismal  entrance  to  a  tall  narrow  building  we  were 
assured  ky  a  Frenck  speaking  effendi  tkat  Mr.  Berens 
was  witkin  and  waiting  for  us.  ^Ve  climbed  tke  spiral 
staircase  of  stone  to  tke  tkird  floor,  much  relieved  to 
find  our  kost  and  a  party  from  tke  Savoy  expecting 
our  arrival-oTke  party  included  Count  Szapary,  of 
Hungary ;  Mr.  \Vild,  tke  Savoy  proprietor ;  tke 
Misses  Nungovitck,  daugkters  of  a  Greek  notakle  ;  tke 
wife  of  an  English  admiral  and  her  friend  Mrs.  Don- 
nuge,  not  to  omit  or  overlook  tke  arckitect  of  tke 
\Vinter  Palace  at  Luxor.  Xogetker  we  quite  filled 
tke  kalcony,  from  which  we  kad  a  good  view  of  tke 
teeming  crowd  helow  togetker  witk  a  sigkt  into  tke 
windows  of  tke  opposite  harems.  In  order  to  clear  tke 
streets  for  tke  coming  procession  tke  Turkisk  soldier- 


THE  MorsKi,  CAIRO. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  37 

police  rode  their  horses  into  the  crowd,  cruelly  slashing 
it  with  the    backs  of  their  swords.      At  ten  o'clock  the 
doors  of    the    mosque    opened    and    its    fanatical   priests 
came  forth ;    first  the  torch  bearers,  men  in  white  robes 
carrying  a  pole,  on  the  top  of  which  was   an  iron  cage 
rilled,  with  bits  of  burning  wood,  renewed  from  time  to 
time  out  of  a  wagon  which  accompanied  the  procession. 
The   horse  which  drew  the  wagon  was  covered  with,  a 
white    cotton    robe    or    blanket    splotched    with    red^"> 
Next  appeared  two  boys  on  horseback,  clothed  in  white 
robes    covered    -with     blood,    representing     Hasan    and 
Hosein,  folio-wed   by  a  mob  of  yelling  men  with  shaven 
heads  and  naked  to  the  waist,  who  slapped  their  breasts 
till  the  street  echoed  and  re-echoed   the  sickening  sound. 
Then    came    two    lines    of    about    one    hundred    priests, 
robed  in  -white,  -with    shaven    heads,  -walking   side-ways 
and  facing  one   another.      A.  reader  who  walked  in  the 
center   recounted   the    murder    of  the    grandchildren   of 
Mohammed,  -who,  -when  they  -were  found,  showed  forty 
gashes,  all  inflicted  by  the  Pretender.     Each  fanatic  bore 
a  curved  sword,  -with  -which  from  time  to  time  he  smote 
his  head,  causing  the   blood  to  flow  down  over  face  and 
•white  gown,  -while  attendants  -with  towels  kept  his  eyes 


38  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

free.      This  particular  Persian  sect  repeat  the  disgusting 
ceremony  on  every  Ashura  anniversary.     After  tne  pro- 
cession carriages  were    called,  and    Mr.  Berens'  coach- 
man.    All,    a   typical    Egyptian,    drove    standing,   wkile 
snouting  "Riglak ya  Khawageh  Ejfendi!  "  (take  care  of 
your  feet,  sir),  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  clear  the  way. 
Upon  arrival  at  the  Savoy  we  were  agreeahly  surprised 
to   find  a   heautifully  decorated   table,  -with   covers  laid 
for  fourteen,  at  which   Mr.  \Vild  had  a  delicious   table 
d  hote  luncheon  served  to  the  party.     \Vhile  discussing 
the  evening  s  unique  entertainment  a  message  was  handed 
us  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  \Vinkle  asking  that 
we   join  them  on  a  trip   up   the   Nile, 
hut  the  fact  10  our  time  is  lim- 
ited -while  theirs  seems 
most  elastic. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


39 


February  Second. 

E  decided  to  go  by  train  de  luxe  to 
Luxor  this  afternoon,  getting  our 
tickets  for  Assouan  at  Cooks.  \Ve 
left  our  trunks  with  the  hotel  porter 
and  travel  in  light  marching  order, 
taking  only  a  grip  and  small  trunk  that 
we  purchased  at  Bryan  (y  Davies,  Cairo.  Vv  hile  Clara 
was  "  folding  her  tents  Seymour  improved  the  shining 
hour  by  "quietly  stealing  away'  to  the  museum,  and 
there  purchased  a  small  box  of  wheat  grains  that  were 
removed  from  a  mummy-case  five  thousand  years  old. 
One  of  our  great  Americans,  the  Hon.  \Villiam  Jen- 
nings Bryan,  in  his  beautiful  lecture  on  '"  Immortality," 
touchingly  alludes  to  these  anciently  deposited  wheat 
grains,  so  we  were  the  more  desirous  of  securing  some. 
After  luncheon  we  basked  in  the  sunshine  on  the 
open  terrace  in  front  of  the  hotel,  diverting  ourselves 
watching  street  fakirs,  acrobats  in  tights,  snake  charmers 
with  their  snakes  and  scorpions,  jugglers  with  small 
chicks  just  hatched,  and  an  old  Soudanese  HoocKee 
Coochee  dancer  playing  a  tom-tom  and  wearing  a  ballet 
akirt  with  dried  bean  pods  strung  round  it  like  a  sort  of 


40  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

fringe.  This  his  snaking  body  rattled  rhythmically. 
Attached  to  the  top  of  his  skull  cap  was  a  string  two 
feet  long,  ending  in  a  pompon,  which  he  kept  whirling 
in  a  circle  hy  the  motion  of  his  head.  Street  fakirs 
eager  to  perform  their  special  stunts,  whenever  an  audi- 
ence can  he  attracted,  haunt  the  terraces  of  all  the 
hotels.  Shepheard  s  is  their  headquarters,  for  here 
tourists  are  continually  arriving  and  departing.  To 
leave  the  protection  of  the  hotel  terrace  is  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  vendors.  Acrobats 
simply  whirl  down  the  avenue  in  front  of  you ;  you 
are  importuned  with  offers  of  scarabs  of  every  size 
and  every  color,  offers  of  laces,  fake  mummies  and 
great  bunches  of  roses  and  violets.  The  dragoman  dogs 
your  heels  trying  to  get  possession  of  your  time  and  a 
dollar  and  a  half  per  day.  The  streets  of  Cairo  are 
indeed  a  hodge-podge  of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  and 
the  contrasts  presented  are  alike  amusing  and  bewildering. 
The  European  element,  the  English,  Greek,  Italian  and 
French,  appear  everywhere  in  blend  with  the  oriental. 
Egyptian  women  veiled  in  the  yashmak,  Bedouins  from 
the  desert  stalking  about  with  lordly  airs;  Coptic;  effen- 
dies  in  fez  and  funeral  coat,  and  donkey  boys  scream- 


OUT   FOR   A  RIDE,  CAIRO. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  4J 

ing  their  wares.  The  clattering  hoofs  of  a  cavalry 
guard  informs  us  that  the  Khedive  is  passing.  Running 
footmen  or  sais  with  hare  hrown  legs  and  emhroidered 
jackets,  carrying  wands  of  authority,  clear  the  way  for  a 
Pasha's  or  Ambassador  s  carriage.  In  the  midst  of  this 
active  throng  a  camel  train  laden  -with  rough  huilding 
stone  slung  in  network  sacks  moves  noiselessly  into  the 
foreground  contending  for  place  -with  English  dog  carts 
driven  hy  East  Indian  hoys  -with  -white  turhans  and 
hare  legs.  Camels  never  seem  to  relax  their  expression 
of  quiet  superiority,  not  even  -when  nihhling  at  the  he- 
flowered  Parisian  honnets  on  the  heads  of  ladies  seated 
in  luxurious  victorias  in  front  of  them,  or  engaged  in 
curiously  watching  a  fleeting  limousine  hearing  a  harem 
to  shop.  The  fellaheen  on  his  long  cart  is  seen  bringing 
vegetables  to  market,  accompanied  hy  his  four  rotund 
-wives  dressed  and  veiled  in  black  -with  their  chattering 
children.  Scribes  sit  at  street  corners  to  write  for  the 
illiterate.  Incense  burning  is  one  of  the  curious  street 
trades^"»For  the  fraction  of  a  penny  the  burner  with  his 
swinging  brass  brazier  •will  fumigate  shop  or  clothing,  but 
probably  the  most  important  street  trade  is  that  of  -water 
carrier.  Of  -water  carriers  there  are  several  grades  or 


42  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

classes.  The  "  Sakka "  who  dispenses  unfiltcred  Nile 
•water  from  the  goat  skin  pursues  a  most  laborious  call- 
ing for  minimum  compensation,  and  his  appearance  be- 
speaks an  object  for  pity.  At  six  p.  m.,  we  left  Cairo 
for  Upper  Egypt.  Mr.  Berens  came  to  the  station  to 
say  good-bye,  and,  as  the  \Vebsters  are  on  tne  same 
train,  we  shall  probably  have  much  of  their  pleasurable 
society  during  tne  trip  up  tne  Nile.  \Ve  have  a  luxu- 
rious apartment  to  ourselves,  and  greatly  to  our  satis- 
faction the  porter  is  an  English  speaking  Maltese.  Tbe 
train  includes  an  excellent  dining  car. 

February  Third. 

yV  RRIVED  at  Luxor  at  eight  a.  m.,  where  -we  were 
persuaded  to  stop  off  and  go  on  to  Assouan  later, 
so,  arranging  for  a  "  stop  over,  '  we  took  carriage  for  tne 
\Vinter  Palace  Hotel,  where  we  were  assigned  a  large, 
airy,  well  furnished  double  room,  including  bath  and  a 
private  balcony  overlooking  the  Nile  and  the  ancient  site 
of  Thebes.  Quickly  despatching  our  breakfast,  we 
engaged  Mohammed  (a  popular  name  hereabouts,  and 
one  of  the  several  recommended  to  parents  by  the 
prophet  himself)  for  our  dragoman,  secured  government 
tickets  of  admission  to  the  Nile  temples,  and,  taking  a 


TKMPLE   OK   SETHOS  I.   THKBKS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  43 

dahahiyeh,  crossed  the  river  to  our  waiting  donkeys, 
thence  over  the  desert  to  Thebes,  stopping  first  at  the 
Temple  of  Sethos  I,  where  for  a  few  piasters  the 
Arabs  offered  us  the  mummified  human  hands  and  feet 
as  well  as  hawks  and  goats  that  had  teen  recently 
excavated.  Mohammed  explained  the  hieroglyphics  on 
the  walls  of  the  Temple.  In  due  time  we  found  our- 
selves riding  through  the  Valley  of  Death  towards  the 
Tomhs  of  the  Kings.  These  consisted  of  tunneled 
chambers  enclosed  hy  highly  illuminated  walls  extend- 
ing hundreds  of  feet  into  the  solid  rock.  Of  the  thirty- 
four  tombs,  we  limited  our  curiosity  to  entering  hut 
two — those  of  Rameses  VI  and  Amenophis  II,  the 
latter  still  lying  in  his  sarcophagus.  After  watching 
Mr.  Theodore  Davis  excavating  men  searching  for  other 
tombs,  we  took  a  three-quarter  hour  ride  around  the 
mountain  to  the  rest  house,  passing  during  our  ride 
native  houses  -with  their  strange,  large,  mud-huilt  safety 
cradles  shaped  not  unlike  a  champagne  glass.  Into  these 
the  children  are  placed  at  night  to  assure  their  safety 
from  scorpions  and  rattlesnakes.  \Ve  had  a  most  ex- 
cellent luncheon  at  the  rest  house,  sent  in  hampers  from 
the  hotel,  and  here  we  saw  a  large  party  of  Cook 


44  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

tourists  wKo  were  being  most  uncomfortably  hurried 
about.  After  a  good  rest  we  moved  on  to  the  Temple 
of  Deir-el-Bahri,  next  to  the  Ramesseum  and  the 
Colossi  of  Memnon,  arriving  after  a  time  at  the  hotel 
quite  ready  for  a  hot  bath  and  siesta.  After  our  fable 
d'hote  dinner  we  strolled  by  moonlight  through  the 
flower  garden  and  on  to  the  small  shops,  not  omitting 
to  inspect  the  "  Egypt,"  an  attractive  Nile  steamer  then 
moored  to  the  wharf .  To  work  off  surplus  energy  we 
took  a  double  carriage  and  visited  hy  moonlight  the 
wonderful  Egyptian  rums  of  K.arnak.  The  majesty  of 
that  night,  that  scene,  was  supernatural,  something 
never  to  he  forgotten,  as  the  moon  s  rays  spread  their 
golden  light  over  those  marvelous  columns  and  over  that 
va«t  area  covered  with  colossal  ruins  0 

February  Fourth. 

GEYMOUR'S  birthday  comes  ushered  in  together 
with  a  had  cold.  Too  "  hutch  hoonlight  and 
night  air.  After  a  late  breakfast  we  visited  the  Tem- 
ple of  Luxor  and  the  private  museum  or  an  English 
gentleman.  The  Luxor  temple  contains  a  curious  "birth 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  45 

chamber,"  with  hieroglyphics  depicting  a  story  or  similar 
prophesy  to  that  of  the  Christian  Annunciation  ana 
birth  Three  Thousand  B.  C. 

February  Fifth. 

PHIS  morning  we  bade  Mahommed  Abdulla  good 
bye,  called  a  carriage,  had  our  baggage  placed  in 
front  with  the  driver  and  proceeded  for  Karnak  again. 
\Ve  felt  that  we  ought  to  see  the  temple  by  daylight, 
and  were  rewarded  for  our  second  trip  by  the  discovery 
that  previously  we  had  missed  the  Sacred  Lake,  the 
Nilometer,  the  Scarab  Column  and  the  Avenue  of  the 
Sphinxes,  all  very  much  worth  whileO-Ten  a.  m.  saw 
us  aboard  the  train  for  Assouan,  ready  to  be  drawn  by 
a  Bald-win  locomotive.  This  ride  is  really  very  in- 
structive, showing  the  desert  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  side  the  fertile  farms  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
furnish  an  insight  into  local  agriculture.  Arrived  at 
Assouan  in  the  afternoon  at  half-past  four  o  clock,  and 
stopped  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  where  we  were  given  a 
fine  large  room  facing  the  Nile  and  overlooking  Ele- 
phantine Island.  \Ve  concluded  the  day  chatting  with 
the  Arab  bazaar  people,  having  discarded  our  straw  hats 
for  Bedouin  tarbuahes. 


46  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

February  Sixth. 

|  HIS  clay  has  furnished  a  continuation  of  joyoui 
surprises.  \Ve  engaged  a  Copt  dragoman,  Joseph 
by  name,  for  six  shilling's  per  diem,  and  took  the  nine 
a.  m.  train  for  Philae,  the  center  of  worship  of  the 
Goddess  lais,  a  naif  hour  s  ride  from  Assouan,  where  a 
gaudily  painted  tutti-frutti  looking  boat  manned  -with 
Nubian  oarsmen  rowed  us  to  the  submerged  Temple  of 
Philae  where  we  spent  an  hour  exploring  the  ruins  of 
this  famous  but  rapidly  crepitating  pile.  \Ve  now  are 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  and  as  far 
south  as  -we  shall  go.  The  boatman  took  us  on  to  the 
Barrage,  where  we  emptied  our  pockets  of  backsheesh 
in  favor  of  the  four  rowers,  the  captain  and  pilot.  The 
construction  of  the  dam  is  an  imposing  piece  of  engi- 
neering -work  of  which  the  people  may  justly  be  proud. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  river  Nile  Egypt  -would  be  bar- 
ren and  uninhabitable  for  lack  of  rain.  Early  in  the 
month  of  June  the  Nile  begins  to  rise,  and  reaches  its 
maximum  depth  of  water — twenty-three  feet — during 
the  first  week  of  September.  The  present  dam  fur- 
nishes the  necessary  -water  supply  during  the  month*  of 
May,  June  and  July.  Construction  is  under  way  to 


TKMJ-LK   OF   PHILAE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  47 

increase  the  depth  or  water  to  twenty-eight  feetj* 
Egypt  has  been  happily  named  tne  '"  Gift  of  tne  Nile" — 
for  without  tne  river  Nile  there  could  be  no  Egypt  as 
we  see  Egypt  to-day.  A.  second  boat  with  eight  rowers 
was  in  waiting  to  take  us  through  the  rapids  of  the  First 
Cataract  and  thence  on  to  Assouan,  passing  en  route 
villas,  ancient  ruins  and  the  private  dahahiyeh  of  the 
Princess  Henry  of  Battenberg.  As  they  rowed  the 
men  beguiled  the  time  with  native  songs  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  hoy  with  a  tom-tom;  afterwards  we 
bought  the  tom-tom  as  a  souvenir  curiosity.  Our  ap- 
petite was  in  fine  condition  for  luncheon  at  the  hotel, 
following  which  Joseph  brought  us  three  camels,  which, 
•with  much  indisposition  and  groaning,  sank  upon  their 
knees  and  permitted  us  to  mount.  These  animals  are 
well  styled  "  ships  of  the  desert,"  for  certainly  they 
rolled  and  pitched  much  more  than  did  our  steady,  re- 
liable, "  Cedric  <<"»Swaymg  from  side  to  side  through 
the  village  streets  we  made  for  the  desert  and  the  granite 
quarries  which  supplied  the  stone  for  the  colossal  tem- 
ples and  statues  along  the  Nile.  The  ancient  tool  marks 
of  the  stone-cutters  are  visible  still,  and  a  partially 
executed  obelisk  can  be  seen  lying  attached  to  the  mother 


48  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

rock  in  tne  natural  state.  Our  return  took  us  through 
the  Bedouin  Cemetery,  the  camps  of  the  Bishareens,  and 
through  the  narrow,  covered  street  of  the  bazaars, 
•where  we  called  out  to  the  shop  keepers,  "Marhaba- 
el- Arab,"  and  " Salaam-alak /" 

February  Seventh. 

TDEFORE  leaving  Assouan  this  morning  -we  made  a 
fare-well  inspection  of  the  shops,  patted  the  camels 
and  donkeys  we  found  in  the  street  stalls,  although 
they  insisted  on  nibbling  at  Clara  s  large  hoquet  of  roses 
and  rose  geraniums,  the  parting  gift  of  Joseph.  Going 
to  Luxor  there  -were,  beside  ourselves,  five  in  the 
compartment — an  Englishman  (ever  ubiquitous)  two 
"  Cedric "  passengers,  a  Russian  from  Odessa  and  his 
little  son  Vladimir,  who  spoke  pretty  English.  To 
beguile  the  time  we  played  geographical  games,  in  which 
the  elder  Russian  joined.  Arriving  at  Luxor  at  five 
p.  m.,  we  had  an  hour  in  which  to  walk  about  the 
town  before  the  next  train  left  for  Cairo.  The  Khe- 
dive was  expected  at  Luxor  next  morning  to  open  the 
new  barrage,  hence  all  the  stations  along  the  route 
•were  decorated  with  branches  of  palms  and  the  red 
Turkish  flag  with  its  accompanying  white  star  and 


THE  GREAT  Conn   OK  KAMK.SK.S  II,   LTXOR. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  49 

crescent.  Around  many  poles  reel  and  white  cloth  was 
twisted,  in  appearance  not  unlike  some  kinds  of  stick 
candy  or  a  barber  s  pole.  A  pavilion  had  been  erected 
on  the  platform  at  Luxor  station  and  furnished  with 
regal  looking  chairs.  This  pavilion  was  enclosed  on 
three  sides  and  covered  with  a  roof  decorated  with 
Turkish  hangings  in  red  with  blue  and  white  applique 
figures.  The  floor  was  covered  with  oriental  rugs, 
and  crystal  chandeliers  suspended  from  the  ceiling  lent 
brilliance  to  the  scene.  The  dinner  and  breakfast  sup- 
plied in  our  dining  car  left  much  to  be  desired. 

February  Eighth. 

ARA  S  birthday.  AiVe  arrived  so  early  this 
morning  that  lethargic  Cairo  was  not  yet  astir, 
and  at  the  Savoy  Hotel  the  maids  were  still  cleaning  the 
premises.  After  getting  settled  in  our  apartment  we 
renewed  activities  by  taking  a  carriage  to  Shepheard's, 
and  to  Cooks  for  mail.  \Ve  surmise  that  folks  at  home 
are  under  the  impression  that  "  globe  trotters"  when  on 
terra  firma  have  little  time  to  spare  for  reading,  hence 
the  paucity  of  mail  matter.  To-day  we  are  going  to 
drive  to  the  favorite  resort  of  Cairo  folk,  the  island  of 


50  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Gezirek.  Here  a  long  avenue  of  lebbek  trees  furnishes 
a  fashionable  promenade,  while  games  or  golf,  tennis, 
cricket  and  polo,  together  with  the  races,  are  a  constant 
source  of  attraction.  \Ve  will  remain  at  the  Gezireh 
Palace  Hotel  for  luncheon.  This  is  the  old  palace  of 
Ismail  Pasha,  erected  to  furnish  hospitality  to  the  royal 
guests  invited  to  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal,  and 
stands  in  the  center  of  an  estate  of  heautiful,  culti- 
vated, gardens.  The  drive  to  it  is  delightful  to  hoth 
eye  and  sense.  There  we  discussed  a  fine  course 
luncheon,  and  there  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mrs. 
Mcllvaine  and  her  daughter,  who  are  guests.  Mrs. 
Mcllvame  showed  us  the  royal  apartments  reserved  for 
the  Empress  Eugenie.  As  our  watchword  seems  to  he 
Onward,  we  visited  the  museum,  taking  a  last  look  at 
the  upper  rooms  and  the  impressive  collection  of  royal 
mummies,  vases,  sarcophagi  and  jewels  there.  Contem- 
plation of  these  mummies  (showing  their  respective  cast  of 
features  and  the  natural  hair  surrounding  the  base  of  the 
head),  whose  souls  are  fled  these  twenty  or  more  centu- 
ries, gives  food  for  thought,  and  inspires  strange  feelings. 
Here  universal  helief  is  that  at  the  Resurrection  hody 
and  soul  will  reunite,  and  carved  in  stone,  surmounting 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  5J 

five  immense  sarcophagi,  fitting  one  inside  the  other  like 
a  nest  of  boxes,  -we  saw  the  "  K.a  or  spirit-likeness  of 
tne  deceased.  vv  e  found  tne  Arab  museum  equally 
interesting,  out  more  particularly  in  tne  line  of  embroid- 
eries, mushrabiyeh  and  other  examples  of  Arabian  art. 
The  library  adjoins,  and  contains  a  valuable  and  unique 
collection  of  band  -illuminated  Korans,  also  oil  portraits 
of  all  the  Khedives.  \Ve  dined  -with  Mr.  Berens  in 
tne  Savoy  cafe  to-night,  at  which  function  he  courte- 
ously presented  us  a  book  on  Egypt.  Tne  evening 
closed  witk  good-byes  to  the  Stewarts,  who  are  leaving 
to-morrow  for  tne  Nile  trip.  Clara  was  in  one  of  her 
industrious  moods,  and  gratified  it  by  packing  till  two 
a.  m.,  Seymour  meanwhile  enjoying  the  peaceful  sleep 
of  either  tbe  just  or  the  consciousless.  Three  of  the 
trunks  go  to-morrow  to  Naples  to  relieve  us  of  large 
baggage  on  our  trip  through  Palestine,  Turkey  and 
Greece. 


52  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

February  Ninth. 
M     nIRED   nature  s    sweet  restorer — balmy  sleep  " 

sealed  our  eyelids  this  morning,  and  -we  overslept. 
To  make  up  lost  time  we  breakfasted  on  tbe  terrace  of 
the  Continental  Hotel,  secured  tickets  to  Jerusalem, 
took  a  last  look  at  tbe  sbops  and  wound  up  witb  a  most 
unsatisfactory  luncbeon  at  Shepheard's.  Afterwards 
we  visited  El  Azhar,  tbe  famous  Arab  university. 
Tbe  foreign  students  pay  no  fee  and  are  allowed  rations 
of  food.  Tbe  building  is  used  to  a  certain  extent  as  a 
Mosque,  but  does  not  preserve  tbe  regular  Mosque 
plan,  baving  been  remodeled  and  added  to  several 
times.  It  bas  six  minarets  and  a  spacious  court  cover- 
ing tbree  tbousand  six  bundred  square  yards,  witb  one 
bundred  and  forty  columns  and  numerous  side  chambers, 
devoted  to  lectures,  libraries  and  laboratories.  Tbe 
court  was  filled  witb  individual  groups  of  about  tbirty 
students  around  eacb  professor.  Tbey  were  sitting 
crossed-legged  on  tbe  floor,  cbanting  tbeir  lessons  witb 
a  swaying  motion  of  tbe  body.  A  class  of  small 
children  studying  from  cards  selected  passages  from  tbe 
Koran,  was  of  special  interest.  Next  we  visited 
tbe  Mosque  of  Sultan  Hasan,  built  in  tbe  fourteenth 


ARAB   STUDENTS  AT    EL    AX.AR. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  53 

century,  one  of  the  most  important  mosques  of  any 
age,  and  tne  most  characteristic  of  tne  Madrasah  style. 
Seen  from  without  tne  walls  seem  higher  even  than  the 
accredited  one  hundred  and  thirteen  feet.  They  are 
built  of  cut  stone  from  the  Pyramids,  and  windows 
relieve  the  monotony  of  hare  surface.  On  account  of 
the  great  span  of  four  arches,  the  interior  gives  one  the 
impression  of  immense  size.  In  the  center  of  the  tomh- 
chamher  is  the  Turbeh  of  its  founder.  The  court-yard, 
like  that  of  all  the  mosques  we  visited,  contains  an  artis- 
tic fountain  for  purposes  of  ablution.  Such  fountains 
usually  are  surrounded  hy  low,  stone,  stools,  fronting  the 
running  -water  where  -worshippers  wash  face  and  hands 
hefore  prayers.  In  the  desert  the  faithful  are  permitted 
to  use  sand  for  religious  ablution.  It  is  said  that  Sultan 
Hasan  -was  so  delighted  -with  this  edifice  that  he  or- 
dered the  architect  s  hands  cut  off  lest  he  should  dupli- 
cate this  success.  \Vnen  -we  returned  to  the  hotel  Mr. 
Berens  invited  us  to  drive  -with  him,  hut  Seymour  pre- 
ferred to  nap,  so  Clara  and  Mr.  Berens,  -with  faithful 
AJi  in  charge  of  the  reins,  made  a  trip  to  the  museum 
of  prehistoric  bodies,  the  maintenance  of  -which  Mrs. 


54  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Leland  Stanford  ao  handsomely  endowed.  TKere  Clara 
was  presented  with  a  lock  of  hair  and  piece  of  linen 
from  a  mummy  dating  Eight  Thousand  B.C. 

February  Tenth. 

PHIS  morning  we  stopped  at  a  delicatessen  shop, 
•where  we  had  a  famously  good  hamper  of  luncheon 
put  up,  including  a  lot  of  French  dainties  seldom  in 
evidence  at  home,  afterwards  driving  on  to  the  Ameri- 
can Consulate  for  inspection  of  passport  before  proceed- 
ing further  upon  Turkish  territory.  The  assistant 
consul  informed  us  that  owing  to  a  formality  omitted 
when  taking  out  the  American  passport  we  would  have 
to  acquire  a  new  one  under  Egyptian  auspices.  Secur- 
ing the  necessary  printed  form,  we  drove  to  the  govern- 
ment office,  where,  after  many  explanations,  gesticula- 
tions and  the  payment  of  twelve  and  one-half  piasters, 
or  sixty-two  cents,  -we  -were  handed  a  formidable 
looking  document,  the  entire  literature  of  -which  was 
Arabic.  AiVith  much  regret  we  left  Cairo  for  Port 
Said  at  Eleven  a.  in.,  promising  ourselves  to  some  day 
return  for  a  long  sojourn.  \Ve  were  fortunate  in 
getting  a  commodious  and  comfortable  train  compart- 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  55 

ment  all  to  ourselves.  Passing  through  this  beautiful 
and  fertile  delta  of  the  Nile  and  this  land  of  Goshen, 
-we  -were  reminded  that  it  -was  of  this  country  Pharaoh 
spoke  when  he  said  to  Joseph :  "And  thou  shalt  dwell 
in  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  thou  shalt  he  near  unto  me, 
thou,  and  thy  children,  and  thy  children's  children, 
and  thy  flocks  and  thy  herds  and  all  that  thou  hast." 
Next  we  passed  through  Ismailia  and  along  the  west 
hank  of  the  Suez  Canal  all  the  way  to  Port  Said,  the 
desert  on  our  right  and  Lake  Menzaleh  on  the  left, 
with  its  great  growth  of  reeds,  and  hence  no  end  of 
•wild  fowl.  The  huilding  of  the  canal  impoverished 
Egypt,  and  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  protectorate  of 
England.  It  required  ten  years  at  forced  lahor  and  one 
hundred  million  dollars  were  expended  on  the  work;  a 
large  portion  of  the  excavated  sand  -was  carried  on  the 
hare  hacks  and  hands  of  the  fellaheen.  It  must  have 
heen  through  this  tract  of  country  that  the  Holy  Family 
entered  Egypt.  Port  Said — named  after  Said  Pasha — 
(spoken  of  as  "the  wickedest  place  in  the  world")  was 
reached  at  three  p.m.,  whence,  without  loss  of  time, 
we  took  carriage  to  the  steamship  office  of  the  Russian 
line  and  requisitioned  a  stateroom  to  Jaffa,  reaching  the 


56  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

steamer  hy  rowhoat  from  the  quay.  The  steamer  is 
small  and  malodorous.  Besides  ourselves  there  is  but 
one  first  cabin  passenger — a  large,  oleaginous,  Russian 
professor,  with  a  distinctive  odor.  The  entire  crew  is 
Russian,  including  "  Mourik,"  the  yellow  purp,  hut, 
wonder  of  wonders,  the  captain  is  Japanese.  Not  one 
of  the  ship  s  staff  speaks  English,  and  were  it  not  for 
recourse  to 'Clara  s  French,  -we  would  he  in  a  had  way. 
The  captain  is  very  affable  and  chats  -with  deep  interest 
on  subjects  American*^  He  agreeahly  changed  us  to  a 
cabin  nearer  midship.  As  we  passed  out  of  the  harhor 
we  had  a  good  view  of  the  monument  erected  hy  France 
at  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Suez  Canal  in  honor 
of  its  distinguished  builder  and  promoter,  Ferdinand  de 
Lesseps,  and  equally  a  monument  to  the  inestimable 
benefits  conferred  on  the  world  at  large  hy  the  French 
nation  through  the  successful  completion  of  this  •world- 
necessary  project,  jt Dinner  consisted  of  quite  an  elaborate 
table  d  hote  with  -wine  and  vodka,  the  menu  being  in- 
scribed in  Russian.  The  professor  was  quite  amused 
at  Clara's  one  Russian  phrase,  -which  sounds  like  "  )~u 
vas  noo  bloo"  At  six  a.  m.  to-morrow  we  shall  have 
reached  Jonah  s  old  swmming  pool — the  harhor  of  Jaffa. 


SI/EZ   CANAL. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  57 

February  Eleventh. 

f"**  RIEF  and  sorrow !  Jaffa  Las  no  harbor  !  therefore 
we  could  not  land  this  morning,  and  now  at  mid- 
day are  still  rolling  at  anchor.  The  day  is  indeed 
heautiful,  hut  high  surf  prevents  the  boatmen  from 
coming  out  to  fetch  us  ashore.  The  captain  fears  he 
may  have  to  take  us  on  to  Haifa,  in  which  case  we 
shall  miss  seeing  the  land  made  great  by  such  a  law 
giver  as  Moses,  such  a  prophet  as  Elijah,  such  a  "  sweet 
singer  of  Israel"  as  David  and  such  a  sage  as  Solomon. 
To  profitably  employ  the  tedious  period  of  waiting  we 
read  the  one  hundred  and  seventh  Psalm,  following  it 
•with  a  study  of  the  types  of  humanity  represented  on 
the  open  steerage  deck  below — Russians  from  the  Cau- 
casus in  gaily  trimmed  high  boots,  padded,  purple,  heavily 
braided  cloth  suits  and  large,  silver,  pear-shaped  buttons. 
Shirts  consist  of  red  calico  a  la  Mother  Hubbard. 
Then  to  the  eye  appeared  Turks  in  red  fezzes  and  zou- 
ave trousers,  smoking  the  national  narghile,  turbaned  Be- 
douins with  -wistful  countenances,  anxiously  peering  at 
the  shore  with  its  boatmen  running  up  and  down  eager 
for  a  chance  to  launch  their  transports,  but  the  waves 
and  sprays  are  dashing  high  over  the  harbor  rocks. 


58  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

making  landing  at  present  quite  impossible.  Jaffa  -was 
an  ancient  Phoenician  colony  in  the  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines, ana  mythical  lore  relates  that  it  was  to  these  reefs 
Andromeda  was  chained  to  he  devoured  hy  a  sea  mon- 
ster, in  proof  of  which  the  chains  and  the  monster's 
hones  were  in  evidence  as  recently  as  the  Middle  Ages. 
From  the  days  of  King  Solomon  Jaffa  has  heen  the 
seaport  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  was  to  Jaffa  on  floats  that 
Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  sent  the  timhers  of  Lebanon 
with  -which  to  build  King  Solomon  s  Temple.  In  his 
"Innocence  Abroad  Mark  Twain  makes  reference  to 
meeting  at  this  place  members  of  the  Adams  fiasco,  and 
tells  how  they  were  assisted  to  Alexandria.  It  seems 
that  we  are  doomed  to  remain  here  another  night  at 
anchor.  Seymour  largely  devoted  the  day  to  sleeping, 
Clara,  on  the  other  hand,  improved  the  opportunity  to 
sandpaper  her  French  with  the  Captain,  who  has  prom- 
ised to  hold  the  steamer  at  Jaffa  until  to-morrow  noon 
in  the  hope  meanwhile  of  favorable  weather  to  land  J* 


JOFFA     FROM    THE    STEAMER. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  59 

February  Twelfth. 

AST  night  was  one  to  he  remembered.  Our  steamer 
at  anchor  rolled  and  pitched  and  pitched  and  rolled 
incessantly.  \Vith  each  pitch  our  baggage  -would  slide 
along  the  floor  and  under  our  berths,  to  return,  like  the 
tide,  when  the  ship  rolled.  This  condition  of  affairs 
•was  not  conducive  to  sleep  and  rest,  nor  were  we  cour- 
ageous enough  to  leave  our  berths  for  fear  of  being 
violently  thrown  down,  so  there  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  lie  still  and  listen  for  the  boatmen  s  voices  in 
the  hope  of  their  drawing  nearer,  which  would  be 
a  sign  of  our  being  taken  off  at  dawn.  Just  at  this 
juncture  the  stewardess  announced  that  the  doctor  had 
come  aboard  to  make  the  usual  passenger  inspection. 
Soon  the  porters  take  our  grips  and  we  are  off  and 
away  in  a  boat  manned  by  a  score  of  stout  oarsmen,  the 
burden  of  whose  song,  in  tune  -with  the  stroke,  is  "Halli 
yallah — yah-hallah"  On  reaching  the  landing  pier  -we 
found  some  four  hundred  Russian  pilgrims  -waiting  to 
go  on  board  the  steamer  -we  had  just  left.  It  is  the 
ardent  desire  of  all  devout  members  of  the  Orthodox 
Church  of  Russia,  known  as  the  Greek  Catholic  Church, 
to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.  Every  year 


60  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

some  twenty  thousand  of  these  people  cross  from  Odessa 
to  Jaffa  or  Haifa,  and  remain  as  long  as  their  scanty 
funds  permit.  Although  these  pilgrims  are  met  with 
during  the  whole  year,  Christmas  and  Easter  seasons 
are  most  favored  by  them,  and  it  is  at  these  periods 
that  the  great  processions  are  held.  The  cost  of  trans- 
portation from  Odessa  to  Jaffa  and  back  is  something 
less  than  Twenty  Dollars.  This  sum  does  not  include 
food,  and  is  merely  for  deck  passage,  each  family  bring- 
ing their  own  bedding  and  cooking  utensils.  The  scene 
on  the  crowded  -wharf  is  one  of  indescribable  confusion. 
But  the  hardships  the  pilgrims  endure,  the  poor  and 
scanty  food  combined  with  stress  of  weather,  utterly  fail 
to  quell  their  limitless  enthusiasm.  It  was  for  this  oppor- 
tunity that  they  laboriously  saved  their  Kopecks.  The 
four  hours  before  Jerusalem  train  time  we  employed  in 
driving  about  town,  stopping  first  at  the  Jerusalem 
Hotel,  where  we  met  the  proprietor,  who  enjoys  the 
rather  odd  name  of  Hardeggs.  This  egg  is  far  from 
hard-y,  however,  as  one  could  readily  see  from  his  age 
and  feeble  condition.  In  addition  to  running  a  hotel, 
he  represents  the  American  Consulate.  The  rooms  of 
this  hotel  are  all  labeled  with  Biblical  names  and  ex- 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  6J 

planatory  texts.  For  example,  our  room  was  designated 
'"  Tabitha,  '  coupled  -with  a  quotation  in  English  and 
German  reading:  "Now  there  was  at  Joppa  (Jaffa)  a 
certain  disciple  named  "  Tabitha '  (or  Dorcas),  full  of 
good  works  and  alms-giving,  which  she  did.  The 
other  rooms  on  our  hall  are  named  Reuben,  Ephraim, 
Judah,  Dan,  Benjamin,  while  the  general  salon  bears 
the  name  **  Israel.  After  securing  seats  to  Jerusalem 
we  employed  a  dragoman  to  show  us  over  Jaffa.  He 
took  us  to  the  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner,  where  -we 
climhed  to  the  roof  and  stood  where  the  apostle  saw  the 
vision.  \V e  saw  also  the  rock  tomb  of  that  Dorcas 
who  was  raised  by  Peter.  Passing  by  miles  of  orange 
groves,  we  stopped  at  one  of  them  and  in  exchange  for 
backsheesh  -were  allowed  to  cut  as  many  oranges  as  -we 
could  carry  away.  Along  the  road  and  in  the  suburbs 
sugar  cane  was  offered  for  sale.  It  is  cut  in  sections  and 
eaten  as  food.  The  Arab  loves  it  as  much  as  does  the 
Southern  negro.  During  this  ride  a  number  of  things  of 
curious  interest  were  pointed  out ;  for  instance,  the  tree 
that  hears  the  kind  of  husks  on  which  the  Prodigal  Son 
fed ;  in  fact  some  natural  object  -with  Scriptural  hearing 
attracted  the  eye  and  attention  at  every  turn.  The 


62  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

women  or  Jaffa  cover  the  entire  race  with  flowered 
silks.  After  luncheon  at  Hardens  (not  necessarily  a 
Lard  eggs  luncheon),  we  took  carriage  to  trie  railway 
station,  and  on  trie  train  found  that  our  fellow  passengers 
comprised  a  Cairo  Danker,  and  his  Hotel  Faust  drago- 
man, who  pointed  out  the  Cave  of  Sampson  and  the 
plains  of  Sharon.  The  "hilly  country  of  Judea  is 
the  birthplace  of  John  the  Baptist,  where  Mary  visited 
her  elder  cousin  Elizabeth,  which  recalls  that  remarka- 
ble picture,  "Visitation,  by  Albertinelli,  in  the  TJffizi 
Gallery  at  Florence.  Here  the  Host  of  Israel,  the 
Philistines,  Egyptians,  Romans,  Persians,  Arabs,  the 
Crusaders  and  Saracens  have  camped  and  contended,  and 
here  the  visitor  the  better  comprehends  the  Psalmist  s  as- 
cription of  "  the  Strength  of  the  Hills"  to  Jehovah  :  "As 
the  mountains  are  around  about  Jerusalem  so  Jehovah  is 
around  about  his  people.  The  children  at  the  station 
simply  showered  upon  us  bunches  of  gay  wild  flowers. 
Our  dragoman,  Matthew  Gelat,  met  us  at  the  Jerusalem 
station;  the  city  of  David  and  Solomon  and  Hezekiah, 
Herod,  Omar  and  Saladin.  It  is  well  Matthew  was 
there  to  help  in  our  rescue  from  the  teeming  mob  of  hotel 
porters.  Taking  us  to  our  carriage,  we  rode,  as  do  all 


STRKF.T  SCKXK,  JOFKA. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  63 

who  come  from  the  sea,  and  as  doubtless  Godfrey  de 
Bouillon  and  the  Crusaders  did,  to  tne  Jaffa  Gate,  be- 
side which  stands  the  citadel  and  Tower  lof  David<<"» 
Through  the  old  wall  there  is  a  new  opening  and  pas- 
sageway to  the  Grand  New  Hotel,  originally  made  for 
the  German  Emperor.  Accommodations  reserved  for  us 
at  the  hotel  -were  quite  satisfactory,  and  the  remaining 
two  hours  before  dark  we  devoted  to  sight  seeing.  As 
it  was  Friday  we  first  stopped  to  observe  the  Jews  at 
the  ^Vailing  \Vall.  This  curious  aggregation  of  indi- 
viduals meet  at  the  ancient  wall  of  the  temple  to 
celebrate  the  miseries  of  life,  after-ward  repairing  to 
their  synagogues.  ^&7e  found  the  Place  of  Lamentation 
crowded.  Old  men  and  maidens ;  young  men  and  old 
women;  the  Polish  Jew,  with  long  straggling  curl  lock 
in  front  of  ears,  and  fur  cap,  predominating-oThe  women 
dress  in  black,  and  their  lamentations  truly  are  unearthly. 
\Vith  their  bodies  swaying  to  and  fro  the  old  men  read 
or  chant  from  the  Hebrew  Psalter  or  Book  of  Jeremiah, 
*"  For  the  walls  that  are  overthrown ;  "  For  the  palace 
that  lies  desolate  ;  "  For  our  majesty  that  is  departed." 
After  each  line  all  chant  in  response :  "  ^7e  sit  in 
solitude  and  mourn."  These  wailintfs  are  uttered  for 


64  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

the  deliverance  or  Zion  ana  for  the  return  of  joy  to 
Jerusalem«J*Next  we  visited  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  descending  hy  a  flight  of  steps  from  the 
street  to  a  paved  court,  and  entering  through  its  only 
door,  the  others  being  walled  up  the  hetter  to  protect 
and  defend  the  huilding  from  raids  hy  Arah  rohhers. 
On  a  raised  platform  level  with  the  eyes,  to  the  left  as 
you  enter,  sits  a  turhaned  Moslem  crossed-legged  on  a 
pile  of  oriental  rugs,  smoking  his  "  hubble-bubble,"  with 
a  live  coal  on  the  tobacco.  He  is  the  guardian  of  the 
Holy  Shrine.  The  next  ohject  of  interest  is  the  Stone 
of  Unction — a  large  red  and  yellowish  marhle  slah 
enclosed  within  a  railing  and  embellished  with  suspended 
massive  silver  lamps.  It  was  on  this  stone  that  the 
hody  of  Christ  was  laid  hefore  burial  in  the  tomh 
of  Joseph.  Next  we  passed  under  the  dome  of  the 
Sepulchre  itself.  The  dome  is  hlue,  spangled  with 
golden  stars.  A  canopy  near  hy  of  reddish  marhle.  old 
and  worn,  perforated  with  large  holes,  is  employed  in 
the  Holy-Fire-Miracle,  the  monopoly  of  which  is 
enjoyed  hy  the  Greeks.  \Vith  lighted  waxen  tapers 
we  entered  the  tomh  itself,  proceeding  hy  way  of  the 
vestibule.  Angels  Chapel,  and  a  low  doorway  into  a 


CHURCH  OF  THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE,  JERUSALEM. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  65 

compartment  not  over  six  feet  square.  A  marble  slat 
covers  the  tomb  proper,  and  this  slab  is  used  as  an  altar 
by  the  different  creeds  which  perform  their  rites  there, 
each  having  its  respective  time  for  services.  Upon  this 
slab  pilgrims  shower  kisses,  and  lay  upon  it  relics  to  be 
blessed  and  sprinkled  with  holy  water  by  the  respective 
priests.  Visitors  are  permitted  to  walk  up  and  down 
the  various  stairways  and  to  view  the  weird  altars, 
illumined  by  candle  light,  of  the  several  creeds — Greek, 
Latin,  Armenian,  Copt  and  Jacobite.  The  Greeks 
and  the  Latins  possesss  respectively  the  largest  room 
space,  the  former  in  particular  making  display  of  shrines, 
pictures  and  jewels,  -while  the  latter  are  more  conspicu- 
ous for  religious  ceremonial  and  service.  \Ve  were 
shown  the  tombs  of  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea,  also  the  place  of  the  Crucifixion,  the  Rent  Rock, 
the  spot  where  after  the  Resurrection  Mary  saw  the 
Apparition,  the  Altar  of  St.  Helena,  and  the  place 
•where  under  her  guidance  the  Cross  was  found.  She 
was  commissioned  by  her  son.  Emperor  Constantine, 
that  ardent  convert  to  Christianity,  to  seek  out  with 
patient  perseverance  all  the  holy  sites ;  and  to  her 
untiring  labors  we  owe  their  identification  to  this  day. 


66  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

The  hypercritical  may  be  disposed  to  captiously  object 
to  the  accuracy  or  these  locations,  and  perhaps  -with 
some  degree  of  pardonable  claim  to  superior  judgment, 
but,  as  for  me  ana  mine,  we  are  quite  satisfied  to 
accept  Bible  history,  confirmed  as  it  is  by  the  supreme 
test  of  time.  \Ve  left  some  hundreds  of  Russian  pil- 
grims in  the  act  of  chanting  fervently,  pilgrims  who  -wall 
remain  all  night  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar  of  Calvary. 
Following  now  our  guide  through  a  maze  of  narrow 
streets,  over  ground  once  familiarly  trod  by  prophet  and 
saint,  we  reached  our  quaint,  old-fashioned  hostelry, 
with  its  wood  fires  crackling  hospitably,  and,  by  the 
way,  roots  of  olive  trees  make  a  very  attractive  and 
serviceable  fire.  Our  chambermaid,  "  Mary,  u  a  tall, 
gaunt  male  Armenian,  in  the  seer  and  yellow  leaf, 
and  one  of  his  first  daily  duties  10  to  appear  early  in 
the  morning  and  build  a  fire  in  our  toy  stove.  An 
interesting  sight  at  dinner  to-mght  was  some  fifty  per- 
sons from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  assembled  at 
one  long  table  dining  table  d'hote. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  67 

February  Thirteenth. 

yV  T  ten  o'clock  this  morning  our  dragoman  brought 
small  donkeys  to  the  hotel  door  for  us  to  ride 
around  outside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  Starting  from  the 
Jaffa  Gate,  we  passed  by  the  New  Gate,  the  Damascus 
Gate,  Herod  s  Gate  (Crusaders  Camp),  St.  Stephen  a 
Gate,  through  which  St.  Stephen  was  stoned  out  of  the 
city,  and  the  Golden  Gate,  through  -which  Christ  made 
triumphal  entry  on  Palm  Sunday.  For  centuries  this 
gate  has  been  walled  up  -with  great  stones,  because  Mos- 
lem chronicles  foretold  that  on  some  Friday  a  Christian 
conqueror  would  enter  Jerusalem  through  it.  The  accu- 
mulated debris  of  ages  has  assisted  in  completely  covering 
up  the  steps  which  formerly  led  to  it.  From  this  point 
we  look  down  on  the  Valley  of  Jehosaphat  and  upon 
the  tombs  of  Zacharias  and  Absalom.  In  this  valley, 
and  on  the  side  of  the  hill  leading  up  to  Olivet,  is  the 
Garden  of  Gethsemane,  sorrounded  by  a  high  Avail  and 
lemon  trees.  Though  not  spacious,  the  garden  is  well 
kept  and  contains  flower  beds  and  very  old  looking 
olive  trees — descendant  products,  perhaps,  of  nineteen 

hundred    years    agone whose    branches    that    now    put 

forth   their    green    foliage    in    due    season    may   in    turn 


68  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

become  the  tree  trunks  or  the  future,  recalling  to  com- 
ing generations  of  humanity  the  story  of  that  "  agony 
and  bloody  sweat.  '  The  center  of  the  garden  contains 
an  open  flower  house  ana  a  fountain  erected  to  the 
memory  of  an  American  girl.  The  priest-intendant 
gave  us  a  variety  of  flower  seeds,  for  which  he  would 
accept  only  a  few  coins  for  garden  maintenance — "pour 
le  jardin"  so  he  said.  Near  by  is  the  place  of  the 
betrayal  by  Judas  Iscanot,  the  grotto  of  the  agony,  and 
the  tomb  of  the  Virgin  Mary  at  which  lepers  sit  all 
day  and  beg.  As  we  approached  the  nearest  of  these 
•wretched  creatures  extended  a  fingerless  palm  on  which 
we  placed  money,  but  having  only  hollow  sockets  in  place 
of  eyes,  she  handed  the  money  to  her  neighbor,  -who, 
being  sightless  also,  passed  it  on  to  one  in  whose  flesh- 
less  face  there  lingered  the  remnant  of  an  eye.  She 
lifted  the  coin  to  her  degenerate  optic  to  examine  its 
value,  and  depositing  it  in  a  recess  of  her  fluttering  rags 
a  low  •wail  of  thanks  passed  down  the  line,  and  bony 
arms  -were  stretched  out  in  gratitude.  Further  on  the 
traveler  enters  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  passing  the  Pool 
of  Siloam,  the  Brook  in  Kedron,  the  Jewish  burial 


LKPKRS    BKGCING    FOR    BACKSHF.ESH. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  69 

ground,  the  fountain  of  the  Virgin  Ma'ry,  Mount 
Ophal,  site  of  King  David  s  Palace,  Mulberry  Tree 
of  the  Prophet  Zacchanah,  Job's  \Vell,  and  Potters 
Field ;  the  last  purchased  -with  the  Thirty  Pieces  of 
Silver  returned  hy  Judas.  Here  also  it  was  that  Judas 
hanged  himself.  Beyond  the  walls  the  vista  is  majestic 
and  magnificent ;  a  panorama  of  mountains  and  valleys, 
of  "  high  hills  and  low  vales.  In  the  afternoon  we 
visited  hy  carriage  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  M^atthieu 
pointed  out  Mtaunt  Scopus,  from  which  point  Titus  in 
the  year  seventy  A.  D.  bombarded  Jerusalem ;  the 
Palace  of  the  Persian  King  Caspar  I,  the  Rock  of  the 
Ascension,  referred  to  in  Luke  24,  and  which  reads : 
"And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany,  and  he 
lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed  them.  And  it  came  to 
pass  that  while  he  blessed  them  he  -was  parted  from 
them  and  carried  up  into  heaven.  And  they  worshipped 
him,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy.  \Ve 
visited  next  the  new  cloister  for  nuns,  -where  our  Lord 
taught  his  disciples  to  pray.  On  tile  tablets  in  the 
interior  court  of  the  cloister  the  Lord's  Prayer  is 
presented  in  thirty-three  languages.  On  our  -way  back 


70 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


to  tke  kotel  we  stopped   at  tke   Tombs  of  tke    Kings — 
prepared    for     them    tut     never    occcupied — tke    New- 
Garden  Tomt  and  Calvary  at  Golgotha,  "  the   place  of 
a  skull."      Thus  was  an  entire  day  passed. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


7J 


February  Fourteenth. 

E  shall  be  leaving  for  Jericho  early  this 
forenoon.  In  a  comfortable  Victoria, 
•with  a  good  natured  old  black  driver 
from  Hebron  on  the  box,  Matthieu, 
the  dragoman,  beside  him,  our  fruit 
and  bottles  of  French  Evian  water 
bestowed  in  saddle  bags,  and  with  our  escort  and  pro- 
tector— a  .Bedouin  uniformed  in  white — riding  on  horse- 
back alongside  our  carriage,  we  depart  across  the  moun- 
tains towards  Jericho.  The  Bedouin  is  a  member  of 
a  robber  tribe,  whose  Sheik  follows  this  method  of 
collecting  backsheesh  from  visitors  to  Jericho.  His 
•word  is  his  bond,  and  once  given  is  absolute.  The 
Turkish  Government  found  itself  unequal  to  the  task 
of  his  elimination,  so  he  plies  his  trade  unmolested,  and 
returns  good  service  for  the  reasonable  sums  exacted. 
Bethany  is  the  first  village  met  with  on  the  journey, 
some  four  miles  distant  from  Jerusalem.  The  name 
Bethany  means  "  house  of  dates,  the  Arabic  equiva- 
lent of  which  is  "  Lazarus.  Here  we  were  shown 
the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  the  house  of  his  sisters,  Mary 
and  Martha,  -where  he  was  raised  from  the  dead,  and 


72  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

the  home  of  Simon  the  Leper.  The  roads  are  covered 
with  broken  stone,  and  except  on  tke  mountain  sides, 
•where  shepherds  feed  their  flock,  very  little  vegetation 
is  evident.  Some  of  the  shepherds  play  on  pipes  of 
reed  quite  like  the  interesting  days  of  Pan.  Parallel 
with  us  runs  the  old  Roman  road,  worn  down  to  tke 
native  rocks,  and  still  showing  the  ancient  chariot  ruts. 
Over  this  road  Christ  must  Lave  journeyed,  as  in  those 
days  it  was  the  only  pass  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho. 
The  present  new  road  was  prepared  and  built  in  antici- 
pation of  the  visit  of  the  German  Emperor  MVilhelm 
II.  The  Brook  Cherith,  where  Elisha  was  fed  by  a 
tribe  of  Arabs  called  the  Ravens,  is  situated  between 
two  lofty  mountain  gorges.  As  we  draw  near  to  the 
Promised  Land  the  outlines  of  the  village  of  Jericho 
were  visible  across  the  intervening  fertile  plains.  Stop- 
ping at  the  Bellevue  Motel,  Jericho,  and  disposing  of 
our  baggage,  we  took  luncheon  and  rested  for  three 
hours  before  renewing  at  two  p.  m.  our  journey  to  the 
Dead  Sea  and  River  Jordan.  The  Dead  Sea  marks 
the  terminus  of  our  travel  eastward«J*It  is  beyond  the 
province  of  tongue  or  pen  to  describe  the  utter  desola- 
tion in  which  that  salt-hearing  country,  thirteen  hundred 


GREEK   MONASTERY — PRISON, 
WHERE   ELISHA    WAS  FED   BY  THE   ARABS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  73 

feet  below  the  level  of  tKe  tideless  Mediterranean  and 
stretching  between  Jericho  and  the  Dead  Sea,  is 
shrouded.  The  Dead  Sea  itself  is  dead  indeed,  heavy, 
unruffled  and  clear.  Our  cunosty  as  to  its  depth 
was  limited  to  a  wading  party.  Near  by  is  the  site 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  For  abandoned,  lonely, 
•wretchedness,  the  stretch  along  the  Dead  Sea  and 
the  Jordan  will  equal  or  excel  anything  in  historyO 
The  River  Jordan  is  a  narrow,  muddy  stream,  smoth- 
ered in  reeds,  brush  and  pampas  grass.  A  boatman 
rowed  us  down  to  the  ford,  the  legendary  place  of  the 
baptism  of  Jesus  and  John,  -where  we,  like  all  other 
pilgrims,  filled  a  goodly  number  of  bottles  -with  Jordan 
•water  for  future  ceremonies  of  baptism.  Those  con- 
fiding souls  -who  wrote  "  On  Jordan  s  stormy  banks  I 
stand "  and  "  I  will  rest  my  weary  feet  by  the  crystal 
•waters  sweet, '  could  never  have  been  on  the  spot,  and 
•were  drawing  upon  their  imagination  for  their  facts^* 
Five  o'clock  in  the  evening  saw  us  again  at  our  hotel, 
and,  after  bathing  and  leaving  a  call  for  seven  o  clock 
dinner,  took  a  refreshing  nap  of  some  two  hours. 
At  this  house  the  beds  and  service  are  good.  After 
dinner  Clara  superintended  Matthieu  in  the  very  neces- 


74  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

sary  -work  of  boiling  and  filtering  the  Jordan  -water. 
This  hotel  Las  capacity  for  fifty  guests,  but  at  present 
we  are  the  only  patrons,  and  find  the  house  a  little 
too  roomy.  During  the  evening  we  had  listened  to  the 
landlord's  candle  light  tales  of  grewsome  murders  in  the 
nearby  ravines  until  it  became  impossible  for  Clara  to 
go  to  sleep.  "We  barred  the  window  with  table  and 
chair,  and  our  dragoman  relieved  the  situation  by  sleep- 
ing in  front  of  the  door  for  protection  against  untoward 
visitors. 


WOMEN  WASHING  CLOTHES  NEAR  JERICHO. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


75 


February  Fifteenth. 

E  took  our  departure  from  Jericho 
(which,  by  the  way,  exists  at  the 
lowest  level  helow  that  of  the  sea  of 
any  inhabited  town  in  the  world),  at 
half-past  eight  o  clock  this  morning, 
stopping  first  at  the  excavations  by  the  Germans  at  old 
Jericho.  From  this  point  the  Mount  of  Temptation  is 
in  plain  view.  A  lunch  hamper  was  put  up  for  us  at 
the  Jericho  hotel,  and  this  we  discussed  -with  a  fine 
appetite  at  the  Good  Samaritan  Inn,  situate  ahout  mid- 
way to  Jerusalem.  After  we  had  lunched  wisely  and 
well  the  dragoman,  fortified  in  the  last  instance  by  the 
black  driver,  assimilated  the  fragments.  Remarkable 
to  relate,  the  black  man  kept  unusually  sober  to-day. 
On  this  hot  and  lonely  drive  we  passed  many  pilgrims 
on  their  way  to  and  from  the  Sacred  River.  Those 
of  Russian  stock  are  the  most  devout.  In  fact, 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  missing  a  Sacred  Pool  of 
water,  they  dip  themselves  in  many  that  are  only  horse 
ponds.  There  are  several  formalities  to  be  observed 
before  one  bathes  in  the  Jordan.  First  of  all  one 
must  go  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and 


Of- 


76  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

make  their  shrouds.  This  is  done  after  kissing  in  deep 
reverence  what  is  probably  the  most  sacred  relic  known 
to  their  faith — the  Stone  of  Unction.  The  Russian 
places  shirt  linen  on  it  and  cuts  two  lengths  the  exact 
size  of  the  stone.  These  he  dips  in  the  river  Jordan, 
and  in  time  they  constitute  his  burial  shroud  ;  but  firstly 
the  garment  does  service  as  a  bathing  smt^As  the  pil- 
grims come  into  view  of  the  stream  excitement  grows 
intense.  Crossing  themselves  with  much  fervor,  the 
stronger  taking  the  lead,  all  rush  forward,  disrobing  as 
they  go,  and  immerse  in  its  waters.  There  are  many 
aged,  bait  and  blind  among  them  who  need  assistance  at 
kindly  hands,  and  the  general  tears  of  joy  over  the  attain- 
ment of  their  life-goal  furnisb  a  pathetic  spectacle  The 
river  banks  contain  no  bathing  sheds  and  the  trees  are 
too  sparse  to  afford  protection,  but  publicity  is  no  de- 
terrent of  the  wild  plunging  of  the  pilgrims  into  this 
rather  treacherous  stream.  Jordan  mud  enjoys  viscosity 
peculiarly  its  own,  and  yet  its  inclination  to  stick  to 
the  skin  is  ignored  by  its  patrons.  To  the  \Vestern 
mind  the  river  Jordan  is  far  from  being  an  ideal  bathing 
place.  Thousands  of  years  before,  Naaman  the  Syrian 
balked  at  committing  hw  body  to  its  turbid  waters,  pre- 


ai. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  77 

ferring  the  more  limpid  streams  of  Abana  and  Pharpar, 
rivers  of  Damascus.  \Ve  found  ourselves  in  full  sym- 
pathy -with  Naaman  s  preference.  AAHien  his  bath  is 
concluded  the  pilgrim  fills  with  Jordan  water  a  tin 
vessel  fashioned  out  of  petroleum  cans  brought  from 
Batoum,  and  sold  hy  the  Jews  who  hang  about  the 
hospice,  which  vessel  of  water  is  blessed  by  the  priest 
and  goes  -with  the  pilgrim  hack  to  Russia,  where  it  is 
held  in  holy  and  sacred  reverence  until  finally  the  last 
drop  is  used  or  else  goes  up  to  heaven  hy  evaporation. 
^V^e  have  been  told  that  at  Christmas  and  Easter 
seasons  Jerusalem  offers  aspects  uniquely  impressive, 
for  not  only  do  thousands  of  Russian  pilgrims  present 
themselves  for  obeisance  and  worship,  but  pilgrims  from 
divers  other  countries  also.  Undoubtedly  Jerusalem  is 
the  sacred  earth-home  of  a  number  of  nations.  To 
the  Jew  it  is  the  city  of  his  hopes  and  dreams — the 
pivot-point  of  religion — to  the  Romanist  and  Protestant 
equally  -with  the  Greek  Catholic  it  is  sacred  in  tradi- 
tion and  history;  while  even  the  Mohammedan  views 
Christ  in  the  celestial  light  of  a  man-god,  and  in  his 
thoughts  gives  him  precedence  over  Moses  and  Abraham. 
The  Holy  Land  is  less  a  rendezvous  for  tourists  than 


78  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

a  gathering  place  for  the  formally  devout-oOne  of  the 
most  eccentric  pilgrims  that  ever  trod  its  narrow  lanes 
was  either  a  Britisher  or  an  American — it  is  not 
definitely  known  which.  Clad  only  in  a  white  linen 
shirt,  this  grotesque  character  used  to  climb  the  steep 
**  Hills  that  lie  around  Jerusalem  carrying  a  wooden 
cross.  His  eccentricity  was  respected,  and  everywhere 
he  received  consideration.  The  oriental  singularly 
possesses  an  almost  reverence  for  the  mentally  deranged, 
a  sort  of  sympathetic  awe  not  comprehensible  by  the 
occidental.  In  the  case  cited,  the  populace  instead  of 
avoiding  the  man  or  seeking  his  incarceration,  fed  him. 
Me  declared  himself  to  be  the  "  Shadow  of  Christ. 
The  cross  which  he  so  laboriously  carried  about  -with 
him  in  life  now  marks  his  grave.  Returning  to  our 
hotel  in  Jerusalem  at  half -past  three,  and  Clara  deciding 
to  put  addresses  on  some  picture  postals  and  take  a 
siesta,  Seymour,  with  MattKieu,  drove  to  the  house  of 
Caiaphus  at  Mount  Zion,  where  Peter  denied  Christ, 
thence  to  the  "  Cenaculum,  a  rambling  building  erected 
over  the  house  of  the  Last  Supper,  which  St.  Helena 
discovered  and  enclosed  in  a  chapel ;  then  to  the  un- 
doubted tomb  of  David,  and  next  to  the  door  to  which 


RUSSIAN   PILGRIMS  BATHING   IN  THE  JORDAN. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  79 

Peter  came  and  knocked,  and  which  was  opened  hy  the 
little  maiden  Rhoda,  -who  \vent  running  to  announce 
Peter's  release  from  prison. 

February  Sixteenth. 

TN  order  to  see  the  Mosque  of  Omar  one  must  first 
procure  a  permit  from  the  Consul  of  his  country. 
Our  dragoman  attended  to  this  duty,  and  this  morning 
when  starting  for  Mount  Moriah  we  found  ourselves 
under  escort  of  a  Kavass  from  the  Consulate  and  a 
Turkish  soldier.  This  Mosque  occupies  a  famous  site 
indeed,  By  Moslems  it  is  esteemed  in  sanctity  second 
only  to  Mecca.  It  is  El  Harem  the  Sacred — in  Moslem 
opinion  the  second  holiest  ground  in  the  world,  within 
which  horder  the  Jew  may  never  venture  lest  he  set 
foot  within  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Second  Chronicles, 
third  chapter,  relates,  and  Josephus  confirms,  that  here 
Solomon  erected  the  Temple.  This  rock,  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Mount  Moriah  is  sacred ;  a  precious  place,  for 
the  purchase  of  which  David  paid  fifty  shekels  of  silver. 
Surmounting  the  rock  stands  in  physical  and  historic 
grandeur  its  mosque,  well  named  "  The  Dome  of  the 
Rock.  It  -was  upon  this  rock  that  Abraham  prepared 


80  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

to  sacrifice  his  only  son  Isaac,  and  tkere  too  the  high 
priest,  Melchicedek  offered  sacrifice  ;  there  also  Aran- 
nah  the  Jabusite  threshed  his  corn.  According  to  the 
Talmud  this  rock  covers  the  mouth  of  an  ahyss  in  which 
the  -waters  of  the  flood  still  roar.  Jacoh  is  said  to  have 
anointed  it,  and  it  was  esteemed  the  center  of  the  world, 
the  spot  upon  which  stood  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  at 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Jeremiah  is  said  to  have 
concealed  the  Ark  beneath  the  rock.  AA^ith  gaze  fas- 
tened upon  the  last  footprints  of  Mohammed  before  his 
ascension  and  upon  the  prints  of  the  hands  of  the  angel 
•who  kept  hack  the  rock  from  following  him,  we  slip  and 
slide  in  our  shoe-covering  of  slippers  round  the  railed 
enclosure.  The  cave  underneath  the  rock  shows  the 
altars  where  David,  Solomon,  Abraham  and  Elijah 
prayed,  and  where  Mohammed  declared  one  prayer  ut- 
tered on  this  spot  to  be  of  greater  value  in  God  s  sight 
than  a  thousand  petitions  sent  up  to  heaven  from  any  other 
place.  The  Mohammedan  believes  that  here  -will  be 
sounded  the  "  last  trump  announcing  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, and  on  this  rock  will  God  s  Throne  be  established. 
In  this  mosque  the  beard  of  the  Prophet  is  preserved, 
finding  resting  place  in  a  silver  casket.  \Ve  coaxed 


MOSQUE  OF  OMAR,  SITE  OF   KING   SOLOMON'S  TEMPLE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  8f 

the  custodian  into  selling  us  one  of  the  glass  mosque 
hanging'  lamps.  Across  the  stone -paved  square  stands 
the  Mosque  of  Aksa — the  site  of  King  Solomon's 
Palace — formerly  an  ancient  Christian  basilica  but  now 
interwoven  -with  Mohammedan  traditions,  such  as  the 
Most  Distant  Shrine  to  which  God  transported  the 
prophet  Mohammed  from  Mecca  in  one  night.  Em- 
bedded in  the  wall  of  the  outer  court  is  a  black  stone, 
and,  according  to  legend,  if  with  eyes  closed  one  is  able  to 
walk  from  a  pillar  twenty  feet  distant  straight  to  the  stone 
he  will  be  saved ;  otherwise  perdition.  Seymour  tried 
and  \vas  successful,  but  Clara  thinks  he  peeped.  Down 
some  distance  under  the  pavement  are  the  stables — a  vast 
area  of  columns  and  arches — of  King  Solomon.  At 
the  time  of  the  crusades  they  were  used  by  the  Knight 
Templars  as  stables,  and  holes  for  the  halters  cut  in  the 
corners  of  the  piers  can  still  be  seen.  Reaching'  the 
plateau  again  we  had  pointed  out  to  us  a  pillar  protrud- 
ing from  the  opposite  wall,  below  -which  in  the  Valley 
of  Jehosaphat  lie  thousands  of  Jewish  graves.  \Ve 
were  informed  that  it  is  upon  this  pillar  that  Moham- 
med will  sit  when  he  comes  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead«3* According  to  Mohammedan  legend  the  ghosts  of 


82  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

the  resurrected  will  be  subjected  to  the  test  of  walking 
on  a  wire  cable  across  the  valley  to  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  about  a  mile  distant,  and  only  those  who  suc- 
cessfully accomplish  the  feat  will  be  deemed  worthy  to 
be  saved.  Beyond  the  Golden  Gate  is  the  throne  of 
Solomon  and  the  palace  of  Pontius  Pilate,  where  the 
latter  performed  the  memorable  washing  of  hands.  The 
Via  Dolorosa  begins  just  here,  and  we  visited  each 
station  of  the  cross.  The  Ecce  Homo  Arch  is  the 
third  station,  and  the  Sisters  of  Zion  have  built  a  con- 
vent, of  which  the  original  ancient  arch  forms  the 
reredos  of  the  altar.  Down  in  the  basement  we  were 
shown  the  original  Roman  pavement  and  the  soldiers 
guard  room,  in  the  stone  of  which  is  carved  old  Roman 
games.  It  was  from  this  spot  that  the  Scala  Sacra  was 
taken  to  RomeJ*  After  luncheon  our  guide  took  us  in 
a  closed  carriage  to  Bethlehem,  six  miles  distant  from 
Jerusalem.  Passing  over  the  upper  part  of  Gihon,  the 
bed  of  the  Kedron  stretches  its  sandy  way  to  the  Dead 
Sea,  while  to  the  right,  shutting  out  the  Mediterranean, 
are  the  mountains  of  Judah.  But  for  olive  trees  the 
fields  would  be  desolate  and  scant  of  vegetation.  Olive 
trees  do  not  grow  in  regular  rows  like  our  orchard 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  83 

trees,  but  are  twisted  out  or  alignment  from  sapling 
to  gnarled  old  tree.  People  bound  to  Hebron  and 
Beersheba  and  to  places  further  south  pass  us  on  camel- 
back,  the  long  Damascus  gun  and  plethoric  pouch — 
insurance  against  desert  and  danger — always  in  evidence, 
as  also  donkeys  en  route  to  the  city,  almost  buried 
under  their  loads  of  old  olive  roots  for  fuel.  Xbe 
plain  of  Ephraim  spreads  across  our  view.  Here  David 
defeated  the  Philistines  and  here  many  associations 
cluster,  among  others  the  Cave  of  Adullam,  described 
in  Samuel  as  the  \Vell  of  Bethlehem  "  which  is  by  the 
gate,"  for  the  water  of  which  David  was  athirsto 
Passing  the  field  of  Boaz  -we  try  to  recall  that  sweet 
story  of  the  devotion  of  Ruth  and  Naomi.  The  head- 
dress of  Bethlehem  women  is  at  once  peculiar  and 
picturesque,  consisting  of  a  white  linen  veil  trained  over 
a  high,  stiff  pointed  cap,  across  the  front  of  which  is 
strung  their  dowry  of  gold  and  silver  coins  inviting 
matrimony.  Some  of  the  younger  -women  are  really 
beautiful,  and  as  we  look  upon  them  we  are  more  than 
once  reminded  of  Raphael  s  "  La  Perla  and  Murillo  s 
AndaJusian  -wife,  and  we  hopefully  wonder  if  some  of 
the  kingly  blood  of  David,  escaping  the  murderous 


84  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

decree  of  Herod,  may  not  now  flow  in  their  veins-0 
AX^e  viewed  the  place  of  the  Nativity  and  the  oldest 
cimrcK  in  the  world,  erected  in  the  third  century  by 
the  mother  of  Const  an  tine.  Some  of  its  columns  were 
taken  from  the  Temple.  Here  we  saw  tne  tomb  of 
St.  Jerome,  who  wrote  the  Vulgate.  Our  Saviour's 
birthplace  is  indicated  by  a  silver  star,  around  which 
burn  sixteen  silver  lamps.  A.  recess  marks  tne  place 
of  the  -wooden  manger,  since  removed  to  Rome  j*Other 
historical  features,  such  as  the  Chapel  of  St.  Jerome 
and  the  Chapel  of  Joseph,  at  which  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared  telling  him  to  fly  into  Egypt,  are  present. 
\Vhile  we  heard  not  the  chanting  of  the  angels,  yet  on 
leaving  this  church  we  seemed  filled  with  a  deep  sense 
of  conviction  that  in  this  City  of  David  had  been  born 
the  Messiah — our  Saviour — and  our  mind  reverted  to 
the  declaration  of  Gamaliel :  "  If  it  were  of  man  it 
•would  come  to  naught ;  but  if  it  -were  of  God  it  could 
not  be  overthrown."  The  testimony  of  the  ages  i» 
conclusive  that  is  was  of  God !  The  Milk  Grotto, 
some  distance  beyond  the  church,  offers  a  few  points  of 
interest.  Driving  back  through  the  town  and  out  into 
the  high  road  we  passed  the  field  in  which  the  Shep- 


WHERE  CHRIST  WAS  BORN,  BETHLEHEM. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  85 

herds  heard  the  Christmas  song  of  the  angels ;  the  tomb 
of  Rachel,  and  stopped  at  the  Well  of  the  Magi. 
Among  our  purchases  to-day  are  two  hand-spun  linen 
shrouds,  embroidered  at  neck  and  hem  with  Christian 
crosses.  \Ve  took  them  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and 
laid  them  on  the  tomh  of  Christ,  following  which  a 
Greek  priest  read  an  impressive  service  and  sprinkled 
them  with  Holy  \Vater ;  a  good  augury,  we  hope. 

February  Seventeenth. 

PO-DAY  we   settled   hills,  packed   our  effects  and 
souvenirs,  dispensed  hacksheesh  and  said  our  good- 
byes.     Matthieu   brought  us  down  to   Jaffa,  -where  we 
are   hooked  by  the  steamer  "  Saghalien,"  of  the  Messa- 

geries  Maritimes  Line   bound  from  Marseilles  for  Con- 

6 

stantmopleoThis  steamer  proves  to  be  satisfactory  in 
every  particular,  and  the  French  cooking  is  indeed  a 
delightful  change.  Besides  ourselves  the  only  first-class 
passengers  are  a  Mr.  Boulan,  wife  and  daughter.  They 
are  from  Biarritz,  in  France,  where  Mr.  Boulan  is  the 
proprietor  of  a  hotel  patronized  every  season  by  no  less 
a  personage  than  His  Majesty  King  Ed-ward  VII.  Mr. 
Boulan  is  enthusiastic  over  the  good  His  Majesty's 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


attitude  is  doing  the  world  at  large,  and  Kis  hotel  in 
particular.  Our  snip  is  anchored  at  Haifa  {or  an 
afternoon  and  a  night.  ^7e  did  not  go  ashore,  as  we 
could  plainly  see  Mount  Carmel  from  the  harbor.  It 
was  there  that  Elijah  offered  sacrifice  before  the  priests 
of  Baal.  Across  the  bay  lies  the  town  of  Acre,  the 
principal  landing  place  in  Palestine  of  the  Crusaders. 
There  is  a  direct  railroad  from  Haifa  to  Damascus  and 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  hut  the  luxury  of  the  "  Saghalien  " 
compared  with  Oriental  steam  cars  induced  us  to  remain 
on  hoard. 

February  Eighteenth. 

TF  the  strong  head  -wind  now  blowing  would  hut  die 
down  we  could  make  an  agreeable  diversion  by 
going  ashore  at  Haifa  or  Acre,  hut  the  prospect  is  un- 
promising. Eight  o  clock  p.  m.  Our  good  ship  is  now 
steaming  north-ward  along  the  coast  of  Syria  (ancient 
Phoenicia)  for  Beirut,  which,  hy  the  way,  is  another 
open  roadstead.  During  the  night  we  shall  pass  Tyre 
and  Sidon.  These  ancient  cities  have  lost  their  power 
to  inspire  awe.  Familiarity  with  so  many  of  their 
kind,  coupled  with  their  structures  and  narrow,  dirty 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    PAI.KSTINE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  87 

streets  tends  to  lessen  the  impressiveness  of  preconceived 
notions,  ana  it  sometimes  happens  that  our  expectation 
of  greatness  at  last  crepitates  into  a  Leap  of  ruins 
devoid  of  any  feature  of  grandeur. 

February  Nineteenth. 

T_TERE  we  are  at  Beirut  and  encounter  our  first  hit 
of  decidedly  squally  weather,  rain  and  rough  sea. 
The  harhor,  or  rather  roadstead,  of  Beirut  is  small,  and 
docking  facilities  limited,  and  these  are  all  taken  up, 
besides  our  steamer  is  so  large  as  to  he  obliged  to  anchor 
in  the  offing.  Like  every  port  situated  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain,  the  view,  including  the  busy  harbor,  is  very 
picturesque.  At  three  o'clock  the  -weather  cleared 
somewhat  and  we  decided  to  go  ashore.  On  the  arrival 
of  our  boat  at  the  stone  pier  we  were  met  by  the  "  un- 
speakable Turk,  and  at  the  gate  used  for  the  first 
time  our  passport.  Taking  a  carriage  we  drove  about 
the  city  visiting  the  bazaars,  in  one  of  which  we  bought 
a  carved  Koran  lectern  and  an  ancient  Damascus  tile. 
By  this  time  a  driving  storm  had  come  up,  so  we 
sought  friendly  shelter  in  the  principal  hotel,  resigning 
ourselves  to  its  protection  over  night,  sans  baggage  and 


88  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

sans  toothbrushes.  As  we  sat  drying  our  shoes  in  our 
apartment  our  ears  were  pleasantly  greeted  'with  the 
familiar  "  AiVelcome  to  our  city !  "  and  on  opening  the 
door  stood  face  to  face  with  our  old  friends  the  \Veb- 
sters,  whom  we  thought  were  already  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and,  too,  the  pleasure  of  our 
meeting  was  heightened  by  the  surprise  of  having  them 
with  us  as  fellow  passengers  to  Constantinople.  The 
weather  is  once  more  promising,  and  wind  and  wave 
having  subsided  sufficiently  to  make  rowboat  navigation 
safe,  we  went  aboard  our  French  steamer,  preferring 
its  accommodations  to  anything  we  saw  on  shore.  \Ve 
were  fortunate  in  reaching  the  ship  before  another 
storm  of  -wind  and  rain  came  up,  -which  lasted  all  night. 

February  Twentieth. 

TDEIRUT  and  a  night  of  horrors.  About  midnight 
the  storm  reached  its  climax,  and  as  the  ship  pitched 
and  rolled  everything  movable  or  breakable  not  securely 
lashed  down  rolled  and  crashed  with  it.  This  continued 
throughout  the  night,  and  reminded  us  of  Victor  Hugo  s 
graphic  description  of  the  behavior  of  a  loose  cannon 
on  board  a  ship  in  a  storm.  How  we  regretted 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  89 

our  haste  in  coining  on  board,  and  wished  ourselves 
safely  bestowed  in  a  hostelry  on  shore.  Sliding  along 
the  dining  room  floor  were  ink  bottles,  flower  pots 
broken  into  bits,  upset  baskets  of  coal  parading  -with 
•wine  bottles  and  magazines.  The  pantry  disclosed  a 
mass  of  wrecked  china.  By  two  a.  m.  it  was  impos- 
sible to  longer  cling  to  our  berths,  let  alone  to  sleep, 
so  with  difficulty  we  put  on  our  clothes  and  waited 
for  the  -worst,  but  as,  after  a  little,  conditions  tem- 
porarily mended  somewhat,  Seymour  took  his  tired 
frame  back  to  berth  and  fell  asleep ;  Clara  and  the 
chief  engineer  meanwhile  keeping  vigils  and  discussing 
the  pros  and  cons  of  a  watery  grave.  Strange  to  say 
our  newly-purchased  shrouds  quite  escaped  our  memory. 
At  about  three  a.  m.  the  anchor  broke,  necessitating  the 
ship  s  putting  out  to  sea,  narrowly  escaping  -wreck  on 
the  storm-tossed  beach.  At  daylight  -we  steamed  back 
into  harbor,  and,  while  cargo  -was  being  loaded,  availed 
ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to  go  ashore  and  purchase 
the  hand-and-foot-made  mushrabiyeh  by  expert  Turkish 
carvers  which  we  had  admired  the  day  before.  Our 
course  now  lies  north  toward  the  island  of  Cyprus  and 
along  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Cyprus  is  at 


90  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

present  administered  by  tke  English,  tkougk  paying 
tribute  to  Turkey.  Saint  Paul  in  kis  travels  visited 
Cyprus,  and  Rickard  Coeur  de  Lion  on  kis  way  to 
Palestine  conquered  it.  ^vVe  are  spending  an  ideal 
•week  on  board  tke  "  Sagkalien ; "  tke  Captain,  Doctor 
and  Purser  are  our  good  friends,  and  every  day  is 
passed  in  agreeable  occupation :  games,  jokes,  stories 
and  muncking  mar  on  glaces.  Tke  menu  entirely  suits 
us — quite  like  tke  best  to  be  kad  in  Paris ;  stuffed  fresk 
dates,  deep  red  blood  oranges,  pate-de-fois-gras,  patisse- 
ries, a  delicious  selection  of  hors  (Poeuvres,  tke  best  of 
Frenck  wines  and  liquers  ad  libitum,  wkile  grouse, 
venison,  snipe  and  plover  are  served  witk  compotes  and 
salads,  not  to  omit  ckeeses  from  every  portion  of  pro- 
ductive Europe.  Live  birds  and  skeep  are  kept  in 
cages  on  tke  forward  deck  to  be  used  as  •wanted.  Tkis 
steamer  carries  first,  second,  tkird  and  fourtk  class 
passengers  ;  tke  last  sequestered  in  tke  prow  of  tke  boat 
witk  tke  menagerie,  and  its  distinctive  Oriental  malo- 
dors,  wkere  tkey  kave  literally  and  Scripturally  taken 
up  tkeir  beds  and  curtained  off  tke  harem.  Frequently 
tke  men  take  first  class  accommodations  for  tkemselves 
wkile  relegating  tkeir  wives  to  fourtk  class  pens. 


S.   S.   "  SAGHALIKN,"    OFF  BEIRUT. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  9J 

February  Twenty-first. 

nHE  sea  continues  boisterous  ana  twenty  first  class 
passengers  tbat  came  aboard  at  Beirut  are  suffering 
witb  mal-de-mer.  To-day  we  snail  pass  tbrougb  Tbe 
Sporades  or  Turkisb  division  of  the  Grecian  Arcbi- 
pelago,  wbicb  includes  the  island  of  Rbodes,  famous 
for  its  climate,  its  early  civilization  and  for  one  of  tbe 
seven  wonders  of  the  world — The  Colossus  of  Rnodes 
— which  stood  at  the  harbor  entrance  to  tbe  city  of 
Rhodes,  and  not,  as  popularly  supposed,  astride  tbe 
barbor.  Its  composition  was  entirely  bronze  and  its 
beigbt  one  bundred  and  five  feet.  \Ve  sball  pass  also 
tbe  island  of  Kos,  noted  for  its  grapes  and  lettuce,  and 
in  particular  as  being  tbe  birtbplace  of  Apelles,  tbe 
greatest  of  tbe  Greek  painters,  and  of  Hippocrates,  tbe 
fatber  of  medical  science ;  and  tbe  island  of  Patmos, 
empbasized  in  bistory  as  tbe  place  of  apostle  Paul  s 
captivity.  Tbese  islands  appear  in  rotation,  one  after 
tbe  otber.  To-morrow  we  sball  land  at  Samos,  an 
island  lying  off  tbe  coast  near  Epbesus,  wbere  tbe 
Temple  of  Diana — anotber  of  tbe  seven  -wonders — 
stood. 


92 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


February  Twenty-second. 

ASHINGTON'S  Birthday.  The 
harbor  of  Vahty  in  the  island  of  Samos 
is  a  snug  pocket  -within  green  Kills 
towered  by  snow-clad  mountain  peaks 
in  the  background.  \Ve  explored  tbis 
clean,  white,  little  Greek  village,  and 
for  tbe  first  time  saw  real  Greek  costumes.  The 
present  administration  of  tbe  island  enjoys  limited 
autonomy,  wmcb  was  being  abused  until  a  year  ago, 
wben  tbe  Sultan  sent  a  gunboat  to  drastically  bring  tbe 
administration  to  a  realizing  sense  of  its  position.  Tbe 
physical  result  of  tbe  bombardment  still  10  quite  evident. 
Tbe  monks  of  Samos  manufacture  a  famously  good 
brand  of  liqueur  called  "  La  Samienne,  and  tbe  women 
of  tbe  village  roll  extremely  good  cigarettes,  specimens 
of  botb  of  wbicb  we  bave  secured  to  bring  borne  to 
our  friends  who  do  not  absteme.  Tbe  next  island  of 
interest  is  that  of  Chios,  which,  like  tbe  rest,  is  beauti- 
fully garbed  in  valleys  of  ricb  verdure  and  peaks  capped 
with  snow. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  93 

February  Twenty-third. 

|  O  react  tlie  port  of  Smyrna  (Turkey),  which  city 
at  one  time  held  the  interests  of  the  rick  Croesus, 
it  was  necessary  to  pass  numerous  small  islands  with 
dangerous  sharp  rocks  projecting  out  of  the  sea,  and  not 
until  we  were  safely  within  the  confines  of  the  hay 
did  we  begin  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  Smyrna, 
showing  Mount  Olympus  six  thousand  feet  high,  castle- 
crowned  Mount  Pagus  looking  down  on  the  busy, 
modern  city  of  Smyrna,  the  birthplace  of  Homer  and 
of  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia,  favored  beyond  the 
other  churches  of  the  Apocalypse.  Passports  were 
demanded  at  the  landing  stage,  and  those  who  had 
forgotten  this  important  document  showed  Letters  of 
Credit  instead,  which  to  these  foreign  officials  looked 
quite  as  impressive  and  were  duly  stamped  with  official 
approval.  \Ve  had  planned  to  spend  a  portion  of  the 
day  at  Ephesus,  but  as  we  did  not  land  in  time  to  catch 
the  train,  missed  the  opportunity  to  see  the  ruins  of 
still  another  of  the  world  s  wonders,  the  Temple  of 
Diana  at  Ephesus,  -which  was  consumed  in  flames  on  the 
night  that  Alexander  the  Great  was  born.  \Ve  made 
the  round  of  all  the  shops,  buying  bon-bons  and  rubber 


94  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

slices  and  visiting  the  Oriental  Carpet  Store  owned  by 
Mr.  Hermann  de  Andria.  It  was  in  the  muddy  streets 
of  Smyrna  that  we  first  got  a  sight  of  the  scavenger 
dogs  of  the  Orient. 

February  Twenty-fourth. 

PHIS  morning  we  passed  the  former  Greek  Isle  of 
Aivali,  which  is  sheer  five  hundred  feet  of  rock, 
from  off  which  the  Greek  fathers,  brothers  and  hushands 
drove  their  women  into  the  sea  rather  than  that  they 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks^Next  we  had 
a  good  view  of  the  ancient  city  of  Troy  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hellespont.  Shortly  afterward  we  were  in  the 
Dardanelles,  where  all  ships  must  stop  to  show  their 
customs  papers.  At  the  point  where  Xerxes  built  his 
bridge  of  boats  and  had  the  water  flogged  because  the 
sea  destroyed  his  first  attempt  at  bridge  building,  the 
Straits  of  Dardanelles  begins  to  narrow.  Since  Xerxes 
crossed  on  his  bridge  of  boats  Leander  swam  the  Helle- 
spont to  see  his  beloved  Hero,  and  early  in  the  last  cen- 
tury Lord  Byron  commemorated  the  feat  by  imitation. 
All  day  we  steamed  through  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  its 
shores  with  their  background  of  snow-covered  heights 


A   LEVANTINE  SAW-MILL,    BEIRUT. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  95 

being  plainly  visible.  \Ve  spent  a  comfortable  day  under 
cover,  close  to  the  bospitality  of  two  porcelain  stoves, 
and  -were  favored  with  considerable  good  music  by  a 
traveler  representing  tbe  Victor  phonograph,  and  by 
young  -Georges  Murat,  of  Smyrna,  who  played  tne 
violin.  \Ve  diverted  ourselves  from  time  to  time  by 
stealing  approving  glances  at  tne  beautiful  Circassian 
wife  of  a  Turkish  Effendi.  She  was  heavily  veiled, 
and  attended  by  a  retinue  of  watchful  servants,  and  only 
lifted  her  veil  in  public  -when  reading  or  when  con- 
versing -with  ladies.  The  Turk  is  a  great  admirer  of 
avoidupois.  Turkish  women  of  the  higher  class  take 
virtually  no  exercise,  and  eat  such  quantities  of  sweets 
that  they  may  be  said  to  be  fattened  like  Strassburg 
geese  for  the  market.  How  may  the  uncertain  amateur 
pen  attempt  when  famous  authors  have  written  volumes 
on  the  surpassing  beauties  of  Constantinople  ?  This  city 
is  built  on  two  Continents,  and  constitutes  the  dividing 
line  between  Orient  and  Occident.  Its  lofty  domes 
and  graceful  minarets,  with  its  towers  and  palaces 
aggregate  a  city  of  bewilderment ;  but  all  other  views 
pale  into  insignificance  beside  those  of  the  Golden  Horn, 
the  point  of  the  triangle  that  includes  Stamboul  s  famous 


96  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

old  Seraglio  Point  with  Scutari  opposite,  which  latter 
hides  from  the  eye  till  the  last  moment  the  sites  of  Galata 
and  Pera.  ^7e  stood  with  gaze  fixed  on  those  heights 
crowned  and  crowded  with  the  memories  of  four  cen- 
turies of  glory,  of  poetry,  of  pleasure,  of  love,  conspiracy 
and  hlood.  Disembarking  where  the  Bosphorus  flows 
into  the  Sea  of  Marmora  on  one  side  and  the  Golden 
Horn  flows  into  the  same  sea  on  the  other,  we  landed  at 
the  Suhlime  Porte,  a  locality  representing  the  controlling 
power  hy  which  the  administration  is  known,  hut  as  all 
names  of  places  in  Turkey  have  an  inner  meaning,  so 
Suhlime  Porte  means  exalted  seat  of  justice.  The  Bible 
tells  us,  justice  was  administered  "  at  the  gate "  or 
"  porte.  It  was  Oriental  custom.  So  this  gate  is 
known  as  the  gate  of  justice,  par  Excellence!  In  the 
dusk  of  six  o  clock  we  found  this  city  of  one  and  a  half 
million  persons  illuminated  only  hy  light  from  doorway 
and  shop,  revealing  hordes  of  hungry  yellow  wolf  dogs 
in  expectant  attitude  for  food,  or  asleep.  A  strange 
dog,  one  out  of  hie  own  bailiwick  draws  round  him, 
day  or  night,  a  howling  aggregation  of  other  dogs,  all 
scavengers  and  fatalists,  like  the  human  or  inhuman 
Turk  ;  they  hardly  move  when  carriages  roll  by,  and 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  97 

then,  usually,  when  in  danger  of  being  run  over.  The 
coachmen,  though  reckless  drivers,  do  their  hest  to  "  let 
sleeping  dogs  lie.  \Ve  -were  told  that  some  years  ago, 
during  a  very  severe  -winter,  the  wolves  of  the  Balkans 
hecame  so  starved  that  they  approached  close  to  the  city, 
whereupon  the  city  dogs  forgetting  local  jealousies, 
handed  together  and  sallied  fouth  in  hundreds  to  fight 
the  wolves.  They  killed  so  many  that  the  rest  fled 
back  in  terror  to  native  fastnesses,  after  which  the  dogs 
returned,  each  pack  going  off  to  its  own  quarter.  The 
Pera  Palace  Hotel  is  quite  the  peer  of  the  hest  in  Europe. 
Our  large  bedroom,  divided  from  a  private  salon  by 
pretty  curtains,  is  richly  furnished  in  scarlet,  while  the 
hed  linen  is  of  the  finest  quality.  Three  large  windows 
furnish  a  good  view  of  the  city,  the  Golden  Horn,  the 
Sweet  AkVaters  of  Europe  and  the  Bosphorus.  Every 
table  and  chair  in  the  dining  room  had  been  pre- 
empted in  advance,  and  hy  nine  o  clock  dinner  parties 
were  at  their  zenith  of  pleasurable  activity.  A.  well- 
known  Pasha,  prominent  in  politics,  was  dining  twenty 
officers  of  the  Sultan  a  army.  Clara  especially  enjoyed 
the  charming  costumes  of  the  ladies. 


98  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

February  Twenty-fifth. 

PHIS  day  was  profitably  spent.  In  the  morning  we 
engaged  a  Greek  dragoman — Theodore  by  name — 
and,  selecting  a  comfortable  Victoria,  drove  to  Stamboul, 
crossing  tne  splendid  new  Galata  bridge  and  stopping  at 
tne  museum,  where  there  are  several  rooms  rilled  with 
Pboemcian  and  Grecian  art  treasures,  tne  carved  white 
marble  Sidon  sarcophagus  of  Alexander  the  Great  alone 
being  wortb  the  journey  to  Constantinople.  Planted  in 
front  of  the  museum,  and  seemingly  growing  there,  is  a 
tall  date  palm  tree  sculptured  in  white  marble.  An 
old  and  peculiar  Levantine  custom  is  the  carrying  of 
"  Pastimes  beads  on  a  silken  cord,  the  speaker  as  he 
talks  dropping  bead  by  bead  along  the  cord.  This  seems 
to  aid  conversation,  just  as  elsewhere  the  fingering  of 
watch  chain  or  eye  glasses  appears  to  act  as  a  speech 
stimulus.  \Ve  induced  the  custodian  of  the  museum  to 
part  with  his  personal  beads  and  are  bringing  them  home 
as  a  souvenir.  Our  next  visit  took  us  to  the  mosque 
of  St.  Sophia,  declared  by  Fergusson  to  be  the  most 
beautiful,  and  of  the  most  perfect  architecture,  of  any 
church  as  yet  erected  by  Christian  peoples.  The 
exterior  is  painted  yellow,  as  are  all  ancient  basilicas, 
once  Christian  but  now  converted  into  mosques.  In 
the  vicinity  are  schools,  baths,  turbehs  and  soup  kitchens 


ST.  SOPHIA   MOSQUE,    CONSTANTINOPLE 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  99 

for  the  poor,  usual  in  mosque  neighborhoods.  Each 
gallery  of  this  marvelous  mosque  St.  Sophia,  with  its 
great  dome  held  in  high  suspension,  is  capable  of  accom- 
modating the  populace  of  a  suburb  of  Constantinople 
entire.  Its  green  marble  columns  were  presented  to 
Justinian,  the  founder  of  the  church,  by  the  Magis- 
trates of  Ephesus,  and  were  taken  from  the  Temple 
of  Diana.  Other  columns  -were  acquired  from 
temples  at  Baalbek,  Thebes,  Athens,  Rome  and 
Alexandria.  The  holy  carpet  of  Mohammed  II 
hangs  against  the  -wall,  and  the  bloody  imprint  of  his 
hand,  -when  as  conqueror  he  entered  it,  is  shown  in 
the  doorway ;  the  mark  of  a  hand  and  five  fingers 
constituting  the  original  tughra,  or  Sultan  s  cypher<-» 
Again  -we  were  successful  in  gaining  by  purchase  one 
of  the  mosque  swinging  lamps.  These  particular  lamps 
are  surmounted  by  ivory  ostrich  eggs,  the  original  idea 
being  to  thus  prevent  rats  from  drinking  the  lamp  oil, 
for  on  reaching  the  slippery  ivory  surface  of  the  eggs 
the  rats  fall  to  the  floor.  Next  we  visited  the  Ahmed 
mosque,  ad]ommg  the  ancient  Hippodrome,  from  which 
the  lions  of  St.  Mark  at  Venice  -were  taken;  the  only 
mosque  with  six  minarets.  Of  the  ancient  monuments 


JOO  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

of  the  Hippodrome  only  three  remain — the  Obelisk, 
originally  obtained  at  Heliopolis ;  the  Serpent  Column, 
once  supporting  a  golden  tripod  for  tne  Oracle  of  Apollo 
at  Delphi,  and  the  Built  Column,  formerly  covered 
with  brass  plates,  and  of  which  history  relates  little jf> 
Near  by  is  the  Janissaries  Museum  of  Ancient  Turk- 
ish Costumes  arranged  on  plaster  figures  historically 
grouped.  Such  turbans  and  garments,  such  an  arsenal 
of  yataghans  and  pistols,  and  such  bundles  of  sashes  and 
other  tawdry  garments  were  never,  not  even  in  French 
opera  buffe,  gotten  together  to  burlesque  human  power 
and  human  weakness.  Further  on  stands  the  Burnt 
Column,  a  tall,  porphyry  shaft,  -which,  by  reason  of  the 
many  conflagrations  through  -which  it  has  passed,  is  now 
held  together  by  numerous  hoops  of  steel.  Chronicles 
relate  that  this  column  was  erected  by  Constantine  to 
signify  the  substitution  of  Constantinople  for  Rome  as 
the  capitol  of  empire.  Inside  the  column  foundations 
•were  placed  a  piece  of  the  cross,  one  of  the  nails  used 
in  the  crucifixion,  a  piece  of  the  bread  preserved  from 
the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  and  the  palladium  of 
Rome.  \Ve  drove  about  the  grounds  of  the  old  Sera- 
glio, the  buildings  of  which  formerly  constituted  palaces 


SITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT   HIPPODROME,  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  JOJ 

of  the  Sultan,  tut  now  are  used  as  barracks.  It  is  said 
that  when  making  excavations  in  this  neighborhood  a  huge 
runnel  sloping  into  the  M.armora  was  uncovered,  down 
which  it  had  been  customary  to  cast,  sewn  up  in  sacks, 
the  hapless  wives  and  slaves  who  had  incurred  Sultanic 
wrath.  The  last  Sultan  that  slept  in  the  old  Seraglio 
was  Abdul  Aziz.  The  column  of  Theodosius,  the  court 
of  the  Janissaries  (originally  comprising  Christian  boys 
who  were  kidnapped  by  the  Sultan  s  emissaries,  brought 
up  in  Islamism  and  prohibited  from  marrying,  and  who, 
after  an  attempt  at  mutiny,  were  ruthlessly  massacred 
by  order  of  the  present  Sultan  s  grandfather),  and  the 
plane  tree  around  which  they  rallied,  were  pointed  out 
in  turn,  and  concluded  our  morning  s  sight  seeing.  After 
luncheon  at  the  hotel  we  drove  to  the  floating  bridge 
that  connects  Galata  with  Stamboul.  Here  is  seen  the 
human  skin  in  its  several  colors  and  shadings,  from  the 
milk  white  of  the  Albanian  to  the  ebon  black  of  central 
Africa.  No  two  persons  are  garmented  alike — shawls 
twisted  around  the  head,  savage  filets  of  burnished 
metals,  coronets  of  rags,  striped  skirts  and  vests  like 
harlequins,  girdles  stuck  full  of  knives  that  reach  up 


J02  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

under  the  shoulder,  mameluke  trousers,  togas,  trailing 
sheets,  coats  trimmed  with  strips  of  ermine,  garb  of 
monk,  vestments  of  gold  lace,  men  dressed  like  -women 
and  vice  versa,  especially  the  vice.  A.  variant  mosaic 
of  race  and  religion  is  here  presented.  It  is  in  itself 
interesting  and  instructive  to  study  the  feet  of  the  pass- 
ing throng,  showing  the  foot  covering  of  the  -world  from 
the  primitive  sandals  of  Father  Adam  s  family  to  the 
delicate  bottmes  of  the  Paris  helle ;  yellow  Turkish 
hahouches,  red  Armenian,  hlue  Greek  and  hlack  Jewish 
shoes  ;  sandals,  great  hoots  from  Turkestan,  Albanian 
gaiters,  low  cut  slippers,  gold  embroidered  shoes,  shoes 
of  satin,  of  twine,  of  rags  and  of  wood ;  a  variety  so 
bewildering  that  while  catching  a  glimpse  of  one  type 
the  eye  is  distracted  by  a  hundred  others.  There  one 
sees  little  Turkish  girls  dressed  in  green  full  trousers  and 
rose  color  or  yellow  vests  cut  like  boys  ,  running 
beside  your  carriage  asking  for  backsheesh.  They  are 
abundantly  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  however, 
making  their  -way  -with  feline  agility  and  henna-tinted 
hands <"*Camels,  horses,  sedan  chairs,  ox  carts,  casks  on 
wheels,  donkeys  and  mangy  dogs  file  into  line  bet-ween 
the  crowds  of  -water  carriers  -with  jars  or  pig  skins  of 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J03 

water  on  their  backs  ;  Armenian  porters,  Syrians,  Bul- 
garians, et  al.,  habited  in  coarse  serge  material  and 
wearing  caps  circled  witb  fur ;  the  shining  bald  pate  or 
tbe  tonsured  Capucbin  friar;  pilgrims  returning  from 
Mecca,  Jesuits  and  Dervisbes  stalking  by  wearing  talis- 
mans around  their  necks ;  here  a  eunuch  swinging  a 
cravouche  of  hippopotamus  hide  and  showing  the  whites 
of  his  eyes  (otherwise  he  is  ebon  black)  at  a  Christian 
who  has  the  effrontery  to  let  curiosity  direct  his  optics 
•within  the  carriage  of  the  harem.  Of  course  there  is  a 
motley  crew  of  beggars.  How  they  manage  to  take  off 
and  put  on  their  tattered  garments  is  a  constant  puzzle  ; 
probably  they  never  do  remove  them,  not-withstanding 
that  their  religion  prescribes  one  complete  and  four  partial 
ablutions  daily.  The  present  Sultan  s  old  palace  by  the 
water  s  edge  is  now  quite  deserted.  Landing  at  Scutari 
we  took  carriage  up  the  steep  rock-ribbed  street  to  the 
Howling  Dervishes.  There  visitors  form  an  outer  circle 
within  which  the  dervishes,  seated  on  the  floor,  sway 
their  bodies  to  and  fro,  howling,  barking,  snapping,  jerking 
the  head  and  body,  frothing  at  the  mouth  and  breathing 
hard,  concluding  by  chanting  the  Koran,  after  which 
several  sick  infants  are  brought  from  their  mother's  arms 


J04  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

by  a  dervish,  who  lays  them  on  the  floor,  face  down- 
ward, in  front  of  tne  chief  dervish,  who  with  all  his 
weight  (fully  one  hundred  ana  eighty  pounds)  steps  on 
them  -with  both  feet.  This  is  supposed  to  constitute  a  cure 
for  present  and  a  preventive  of  future  ills.  Some  of  the 
tables  were  only  a  week  old.  This  heroic,  or  rather 
barbarous,  treatment  is  applied  to  persons  from  tender 
infancy  to  full  manhood.  On  our  way  back  we  drove 
through  the  spacious  grounds  of  the  Turkish  Cemetery 
shaded  by  a  forest  of  cypress  trees.  All  Turks  desire 
to  be  buried  in  Asia,  as  the  Koran  instructs  that  re- 
creant Europe  is  not  naturally  the  last  resting  place  of 
the  Faithful.  The  grave  stones  incline  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  are  spread  in  disorder  throughout  this  dismal 
forest.  The  slender  Turkish  column-shaped  headstone 
is  surmounted  by  a  turban  carved  in  marble,  the  style 
of  fez  and  turban  indicating  the  rank  of  the  deceased. 
The  graves  of  the  -women  are  distinguished  by  narrow- 
vertical  tombstones,  showing  the  carved  design  of  a  leaf. 
The  number  of  offspring  is  symbolized  by  the  number 
of  flowers  extending  from  the  leaf — a  flower  for  each 
child — -and  is,  -we  think,  a  pretty  conceit.  ^iVe  saw  very 
few  tombstones  minus  one  or  more  flowers.  Graves 


CEMETERY,  SCTTARI,   (CONSTANTINOPLE.) 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  JOS 

surrounded  by  a  wall,  with  numerous  plain  slabs  capping 
them,  indicate  the  rank  of  Pasha,  hut  the  most  imposing 
monument  of  all  is  that  erected  by  the  Sultan  Moham- 
med II  over  the  spot  on  which  the  horse  dropped  dead 
after  safely  bearing  a  captain  bringing  news  of  the 
fall  of  Constantinople  ^Returning  we  passed  by  the 
Nightingale  Hospital  of  gentle  renown,  and  in  the  Har- 
bor, the  Maidens  1  ower.  Beyond  is  the  British  Cem- 
etery, marked  with  a  fitting  column  in  commemoration 
of  the  Crimean  heroes,  so  many  of  whom  found  last 
resting  place  there.  At  the  landing  stage  -we  were 
attracted  by  the  ever  toothsome  "Nougat,"  "Turkish 
Delight  and  pistachio  nuts,  which  to  us  always  offer 
temptation.  Our  carriage  was  in  waiting  and  took  us 
on  to  Pigeon  Mosque,  with  its  thousands  of  tame  pigeons; 
birds  of  the  prophet.  Before  returning  to  the  hotel  for 
dinner  we  stopped  awhile  at  the  bazaars  to  make  a 
selection  of  coffee  cups.  The  succession  of  buildings 
which  go  to  make  up  the  bazaars  of  Constantinople 
might  be  described  as  an  immense  stone  edifice  in  the 
style  of  Byzantine  architecture,  irregular  in  form  and 
surrounded  by  high  gray  walls.  Light  is  furnished  to 
the  interior  of  the  shops  through  hundreds  of  lead 


J06  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

colored  cupolas.  An  arched  doorway  through  which 
no  noise  from  -without  can  penetrate  constitutes  the  prin- 
cipal entrance.  Standing  a  few  feet  from  this  entrance 
the  feeling  impresses  itself  that  within  these  fortresslike 
walls  is  the  home  of  solitude  and  silence,  yet,  once  fairly 
within,  the  beholder  stands  bewildered,  for  he  encounters 
not  one  edifice,  but  a  chain  or  labyrinth  of  arched  streets 
flanked  by  sculptured  columns  and  pilasters ;  a  real  city 
indeed,  containing  mosques,  fountains  and  cross-ways, 
•with  squares  as  dimly  lighted  as  a  forest,  into  -which  no 
ray  of  sunlight  ever  enters,  tut  through  which  surging 
throngs  of  people  daily  pass  and  repass.  Every  street 
is  a  bazaar,  and  through  these  dimly  lighted  thorough- 
fares camels,  horses  and  carriages  are  constantly  in 
motion,  giving  off  an  almost  deafening  concatenation  of 
sounds.  Each  class  of  goods  in  the  bazaar  enjoys  its 
allotted  section,  and  the  visitor  is  beset  on  every  side  by 
Greek,  Armenian  and  Jew  -with  words,  signs  and 
gestures  soliciting  him  to  buy,  but  never  by  the  immobile 
1  urk — the  fatalist,  who  rests  content  in  his  belief  that 
'  ^Vliat  is  to  be,  -will  be !  Half  a  score  of  raucus 
voices,  all  in  one  breath,  addressed  Seymour  as  Captain! 
Monsieur !  Signore !  Eccellenza !  Caballero !  My 


A   GLIMPSE   IN  THE  GRAND    BAZAAR,  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  107 

Lord !  Kyrie.  Your  way  takes  you  through  towering 
Leaps  of  brocades  from  Bagdad,  silks  from  Broussa, 
linens  from  Hindustan,  muslins  from  Bengal,  shawls 
from  Madras,  cashmeres  from  India  and  the  van-tinted 
tissues  of  Cairo  ;  but  the  attractiveness  of  these  articles 
fades  out  of  significance  beside  the  jewelry  display.  At 
the  jewelers  bazaar  old  I  urks  offer  to  your  admiring 
gaze  diamonds  from  Golconda,  sapphires  from  Ormus, 
rubies  from  Gramschid,  necklaces  of  opals  and  stars  of 
emeralds.  After  waiting  till  one  turbaned  patriarch  had 
finished  his  pious  devotions  we  presented  a  ring  which  we 
found  on  a  street  of  Cairo  for  his  examination,  and  need- 
less to  say  our  own  opinion  of  this  product  of  the  Orien- 
tal jewelers  art  -was  abundantly  confirmed — the  metal 
composing  it  lacking  even  the  doubtful  respectability 
of  gold  polishj*It  is  not  possible  to  negotiate  a  purchase 
with  one  person  only ;  the  proprietor  is  supplemented 
by  his  partners,  by  middlemen,  runners,  etc.,  etc.,  until 
you  find  a  dozen  or  more  of  them  at  your  elbow  super- 
vising the  transaction.  They  begin  the  negotiation  by 
asking  a  palpably  absurd  price.  You  have  already  been 
advised  that  it  is  not  good  business  to  offer  more  than  a 
third  of  the  sum  demanded,  so  you  follow  this  advice. 


JOS  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

whereupon  the  shopkeeper  ana  his  friends  drop  their 
arms  in  feigned  dismay  or  strike  their  foreheads  -with  a 
gesture  of  despair.  A  competitor  from  a  near  by  shop 
whispers  in  your  ear :  "  Don  t  buy;  he  is  a  cheat ! 
\Vhile  the  purchaser  is  examining  goods  the  coalition 
are  exchanging  signs,  winks,  nods  and  whispers.  If 
you  speak  Greek  they  speak  in  Turkish ;  if  you  know 
Turkish  they  converse  in  Armenian,  and  if  you  are 
au  fait  of  Armenian  they  resort  to  Italian  or  Spanish., 
but  by  kook  or  crook  they  are  certain  to  get  the 
better  of  you.  One  curious  feature  of  Constantinople 
— one  that  the  people  should  for  their  own  interest  and 
protection  more  seriously  consider  and  remedy — is  the 
fire  service.  ^Vlien  a  fire  occurs  in  Constantinople 
the  fact  is  announced  by  boom  of  cannon  on  Galata 
Tower,  the  highest  eminence  in  the  city ;  then  flags  of 
different  colors  are  displayed,  indicating  the  place  of  the 
conflagration,  upon  which  the  primitive  fire  extinguishers 
proceed  to  the  scene.  On  arriving  there  nothing  is  done 
toward  putting  out  the  fire  until  a  compensation  bargain 
has  been  struck  -with  the  property  owner  and  a  cash 
sum  in  advance  agreed  upon ;  these  pourparlers  usually 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


J09 


take  up  so  muck  time  tkat  the  property  is  largely 
destroyed  before  any  attempt  at  salvage  is  made.  So 
muck  for  tke  fire  department  of  one  of  tke  world  s 
ex-great  cities. 


HO  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Fekruary  Twenty-sixtk. 
HIS  is  Friday,  tke  day  of  tke  week  on 
wmck  tke  Sultan  regularly  attends 
mosque,  tke  day  known  to  tke  Faitk- 
ful  as  "  Salamlik.  Our  dragoman  ar- 
ranged at  tke  American  Consulate  for 
tke  necessary  permit  to  attend  tkis 
social  function.  Being  somewhat  early,  we  stopped 
en  route  to  see  tke  rug  weavers  at  work.  Many  of 
tkese  are  little  girls  eigkt  or  nine  years  of  age,  directed 
ky  experienced  -weavers  in  tke  manufacture  of  beautiful 
silk  rugs,  tke  kind  we  see  exposed  for  sale  at  kome  at  a 
tkousand  dollars  apiece  and  upwards.  For  tkis  patient 
lakor,  occupying  as  muck  time  as  tkree  years  in  tke 
making  of  a  single  rug,  tkese  little  -weavers  receive  tke 
starvation  wage  of  nine  cents  a  day.  It  seems  tkat  in 
every  land,  according  to  tke  measure  of  its  enligkten- 
ment,  children  are  more  or  less  imposed  upon,  and  it  is 
a  consummation  devoutly  to  ke  wisked  tkat  in  our  own 
keloved  country  tke  time  is  not  distant  wken  stringent 
laws  against  child  lakor  -will  ke  enacted  and  enforced. 
A\^e  continue  our  long  ride  across  tke  city  toward 
Yildiz  Kiosk,  situate  on  a  kigk  and  thickly  wooded  kill. 


A    FEI.I.AHINE  OK  THE   NILE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  \  \  \ 

It  is  the  site  of  the  Kiosk,  built  by  the  grandfather  of  the 
present  Sultan.  The  palace  was  named  after  a  heautiful 
Circassian  favorite,  whom  the  ruler  called  his  **  Yildiz, 
or  star.  Yildiz  K.IOSK  is  a  glittering  mass  of  -white 
marble ;  the  palace  of  the  Imperial  Ceremonies  called 
Merassim.  No  other  sovereign  in  the  world  is  favored 
•with  such  views  from  his  palace  window — the  Ionian 
blue  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  majestic  stretch  of 
emerald  parks — one  huge  aquamarine  set  against  the 
disquieting  glitter  of  bayonets.  Yildiz  is  a  fortress 
that  could  well  stand  a  siege.  The  domain  is  encircled 
by  a  great  wall,  including  barracks  and  a  numerous 
Corp  de  Garde.  A  second  wall  surrounds  the  personal 
residence  of  the  Sultan  in  Yildiz  Park,  as  -well  as  that 
of  his  sons,  the  princes  and  the  Seraglio.  The  latter  is 
so  strictly  guarded  that  Yildiz  enjoys  the  proud  boast 
of  being  the  most  moral  Seraglio  in  history!  The 
favorites  of  the  Sultan  s  harem  are  Circassian  girls,  girls 
of  such  surpassing  beauty  as  to  excite  such  classifications 
as  "  Pearl  of  the  Caliphat,"  '"  The  Moon- Formed," 
and  'v  Early  Ripening  Grapes "  (the  acme  of  poetic 
appellation  being  "  Tears  of  Mahomet,"  symbolic  of  the 
superb  white  grape  cluster).  To  call  a  Turkish  woman 


U2  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

a  "  Little  Bit  of  Sugar,  is  to  apply  to  her  the  sweetest 
of  epithets.  The  use  of  rouge,  oi  Indian  ink  for  tne 
eyebrows,  pencil  for  eyelashes,  or  jars  of  "lip  cordial" 
by  tne  Y  ildiz  Seraglio  s  thousand  most  beautiful  women 
of  the  world,  is  strictly  forbidden  by  the  Sultan,  who 
is  in  fear  of  concealed  poison.  The  Volide — Sultana — 
(step-mother  to  the  Sultan  who  enjoys  the  title  of 
"  Crown  of  the  Veiled  Meads  '  ),  dominates  the  Sera- 
glio. In  the  gardens  without,  armed  guards  are  every- 
where in  evidence.  Now  and  then  a  eunuch  (these  are 
red-fezzed  negroes)  passes  into  view,  and  from  time  to 
time  Mis  Mighness,  the  Great  Eunuch  of  the  Imperial 
Harem  also  may  be  seen  strutting  along.  This  import- 
ant personage  is  an  enormous  negro,  bearing  the  title  of 
"  Dar-us-seadct-us-cherife-aghassy"  ("Guard  of  the 
Gate  of  Felicity  ").  \Vhenever  he  promenades  in  the 
park  several  servants  always  accompany  him.  K.apous- 
aghassy  (Chief  of  the  MVhite  Eunuchs),  too  may  make 
furtive  appearance  in  the  garden.  These  shrewd,  sly, 
sad  men  have,  perhaps,  come  forth  for  a  stroll  near 
the  heliotrope  garden,  or  as  message-bearers  from  the 
Sultan  to  the  Yersir-dir-bachi — Grand  Master  of  the 
Slaves.  Already  streets  are  filled  with  regiments  and 


El'NtCII    (U'ARDINC    DOOR    OK    ROYAI,    HAREM. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  U3 

their  multiplicity  of  Turkish  soldiers,  the  thirty  thou- 
sand or  so  of  red  fezzes  giving  the  impression  of  red 
tulip  beds.  Each  regiment  has  its  own  hand  of  music. 
\Ve  slowly  forge  our  -way  through  them  to  the  enclo- 
sure near  the  palace  gate,  reserved  for  foreign  visitors, 
where  ushers  in  uniform  examine  passports  and  conduct 
us  to  a  number  of  expectant  friends  from  the  hotel. 
Every  avenue  and  open  square  shows  four  rows  deep 
of  mounted  soldiers  with  lances  in  place — a  truly  gala 
sight  befitting  such  a  gala  occasion.  At  the  appointed 
moment  the  Mmezzm  appears  on  the  balcony  of  the 
minaret  and  calls  to  prayer — "  God  is  great  '  (repeated 
four  times);  "  I  bear  -witness  that  there  is  no  God  but 
God  (twice  repeated);  "  I  bear  witness  that  Moham- 
med is  the  apostle  of  God "  (twice  repeated);  ""  Come 
to  prayers !  Come  to  prayers !  Come  to  salvation ! 
Come  to  salvation  !  Come  to  salvation !  God  is  great ! 
There  is  no  other  God  but  God!"  ^Vhen  the  call 
occurs  early  in  the  morning  the  Muezzin  adds  :  ""  Prayer 
is  better  than  sleep!"  The  favorite  regiment  and  per- 
sonal guard  of  the  Sultan,  in  brilliant  green  turbans, 
gives  the  signal  of  His  Majesty's  approach.  Now 
we  hear  the  first  notes  of  the  Hamideyeh,  the  Sultan's 


U4  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

march.  The  generals  of  the  army  in  full  dress  regalia 
precede  on  horseback,  followed  by  Pashas  and  Minis- 
ters ;  next  appear  the  beautiful  carriages  of  the  harem 
bearing  the  -wives  of  the  Sultan  in  brilliant  attire  but  in 
veiled  seclusion,  each  accompanied  by  her  particular 
maid  slave,  while  beside  each  carriage  stalwart  eunuchs 
run  on  foot.  The  next  carriage  contains  no  less  a 
personage  than  the  Sublime  Porte,  Abdul  Hamid  II, 
riding  alone,  dressed  in  conventional  black  clothes  and 
•wearing  a  red  fez.  Our  American  magazine  and 
journal  cartoonists  have  very  accurately  depicted  his 
appearance.  As  the  Sultan  steps  out  of  his  carriage,  in 
his  simple  dress  the  center  of  this  gorgeous  pageant,  the 
Muezzin  above  leans  over  the  gallery  of  the  minaret 
and  utters  a  concluding  cry,  addressed  to  the  Sultan,  and 
only  employed  on  such  occasions :  "  Remember  there  is 
One  greater  than  thou !  The  regiments  salute  as  with 
one  voice  :  "  Long  live  our  Ruler !  As  the  Sultan 
disappears  within  the  mosque  the  soldeirs  break  ranks 
and  relax  from  their  erstwhile  rigidity.  Servants  in 
livery  dispense  in  dainty  cups  most  delicious  tea  and 
Huntley  and  Palmer  -wafers  to  the  -waiting  thousands 
of  soldiers  and  visitors.  The  twenty  minutes  so 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  \  15 

pleasantly  occupied  pass  all  too  soon;  the  signal  for 
attention  is  given,  and  every  one  is  on  the  gut  vive  of 
expectancy.  The  line  is  reformed  with  its  generals, 
pashas,  crown  prince  and  younger  princelings  leading, 
followed  by  the  harem  carriages  drawn  by  the  Sultan's 
favorite  steeds  led  hy  richly  attired  grooms,  and  lastly 
followed  hy  the  Suhlime  Porte  himself,  riding  with  his 
Grand  Vizier,  to  whom  the  populace  renew  devout 
obeisances,  during  which  the  imperial  retinue  disappears 
-within  the  Kiosk  gate,  hut  not  hefore  we  had  a  good 
view  of  Burhaneddin,  the  Sultan  s  third  son  and  favorite 
for  the  succession,  defying  thereby  the  Mohammedan 
law  which  specifies  that  the  eldest  of  the  family  (the 
Sultan's  brother)  naturally  becomes  heir.  The  Sultan 
is  annually  married  at  a  mosque.  The  Turkish  Empire 
is  winnowed  for  the  most  beautiful  girl  to  adorn 
the  palace  in  the  capacity  of  new  wife.  Usually  the 
Sultan  s  mother  makes  the  choice  from  an  eager  bevy 
of  beauties  assembled  from  far  and  wide.  The  royal 
marriage  laws  peculiar  to  this  country  make  the  wife  of 
the  Sultan  a  slave,  conformably  to  the  provision  that  the 
future  ruler  must  he  horn  a  slave — strange,  hut  true«£* 
It  was  only  after  leaving  Egypt  that  we  learned  that  the 


\\6  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

present  Khedivah  when  young  had  as  a  slave  girl  been 
presented  by  the  Sultan  to  the  present  Khedive's  father. 
She  was  a  girl  of  surpassing  beauty,  and  was  given  to 
Prince  Abbas  as  a  playmate.  They  grew  up  together,  and 
were  married  after  the  birth  of  their  first  child.  From 
the  Yildiz  Kiosk  we  drove  to  the  beautiful  Suleiman 
Mosque,  the  most  splendid  in  Constantinople,  its  interior 
consisting  of  porcelain  tile  -work  in  brilliant  blue.  ^7e 
had  time  to  see  the  mosque  of  the  "  ^Vhirling  Der- 
vishes — a  queer,  mediaeval  sort  of  place — where  visi- 
tors occupy  seats  in  the  upper  gallery,  and  through  the 
arches  look  down  on  the  incanting  fanatics  below,  who 
whirl  about  so  rapidly  that  their  green  robes  together 
with  their  snow  white  .undergarments  form  a  radiance 
or  sort  of  aureole  around  their  naked  feet.  On  account 
of  the  " Salamlik"  or  visit  of  the  Sultan  to  the  mosque, 
Friday  is  the  one  day  of  the  week  on  which  the  hotels 
make  a  specialty  of  serving  luncheon  until  late  in  the 
afternoon,  even  up  to  four  o  clock.  Clara  had  accepted 
an  invitation  to  take  tea  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  de  Andna, 
at  their  palatial  home  in  Constantinople,  -where  she  was 
delightfully  entertained,  meeting  a  number  of  their 
European  friends  and  relatives.  During  the  afternoon 


THE  SALAMI.IK,  YILDIZ  KIOSK  AT  THE  LEFT. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  U7 

our  good  friends  the  peripatetic  MVebsters  and  Seymour 
drove  over  to  Stamboul  to  investigate  the  Cisterns  which 
were  built  there  in  the  time  of  Emperor  Constant  me, 
and  now  are  used  as  a  resort  for  silk  spinners.  The 
arched  roof  over  the  Cisterns  is  supported  by  three 
hundred  and  thirty-six  massive  columns  thirty-nine  feet 
high  showing  carved  capitals  of  much  artistic  merit. 
On  tkeir  way  back  to  the  botel  the  MVebsters  and  Sey- 
mour were  again  attracted  to  the  bazaar  reservation, 
and  stayed  so  late  bargaining  for  a  five  dollar  table 
cover  for  fifty  cents  that  the  lights  were  extinguished 
and  they  were  obliged  to  tip  the  gate  keeper  to  get  out. 
It  is  strange  but  true,  the  Oriental  appreciates  and 
likes  most  those  persons  who  drive  tbe  hardest  bargains 
•with  him.  He  has  only  contempt  for  the  soft,  plastic 
individual  who  pays  him  his  first  asking  price.  \Vhen 
later  in  the  evening  Clara  examined  our  purchase  of 
alleged  silk  table  covers  we  -were  chagrined  to  find  that 
our  man  erudition  had  accepted  mercerized  cotton,  and 
that  they  were  dear  at  fifty  cents  each.  At  the 
hotel  we  met  our  old  friends  of  Bermuda  days,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Armstrong,  Jr.,  -who  had  just  arrived  by  the 
"Arabic  after  a  cruise  through  the  Mediterranean. 


J  J8  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Needless  to  say,  tke  reunion  was  appropriately  celebrated 
at  tke  Pera  Palace  with  things  pleasing  to  tke  palate  as 
well  as  an  interesting  exchange  of  news  up  to  date. 
\Ve  kave  tried  to  keep  abreast  of  our  mailing  list — 
duly  sending  picture  postals  to  relatives  and  friends  at 
kome — kut  mailing  anytking  from  tkis  portion  of  tke 
gloke  is  coupled  with  some  measure  of  uncertainty 
inasmuck  as  one  must  first  decide  to  what  government 
ke  will  confide  tke  protection  of  kis  mail  matter,  ke- 
cause  tke  Austrian,  German,  Italian,  Turkisk,  Frenck, 
Japanese,  and  we  kesitate  to  guess  how  many  more,  post 
offices  operate  independently  kere,  witk  separate  letter 
koxes,  separate  postage  stamps  and  separate  letter  car- 
riers, so  if  tkere  kave  keen  disappointments,  censure  of 
tke  Davises  should  ke  suspended. 

February  Twenty-seventk. 

/L  FTER  emptying  our  pockets  of  Turkisk  coppers  to 
tke  keggars  on  tke  pier,  -we  steamed  away  at  half- 
past  ten  a.  m.  on  tke  Austrian  Lloyd  s  S.  S.  "  Baron 
Beck,  bound  for  Greece.  Tke  United  States  ambas- 
sador, Hon.  John  G.  A.  Leishman,  visited  tke  wharf 
to  wish  some  of  his  Legation  friends  bon  voyage.  One 


GATE  OF  THE  SEVEN  TOWERS. 
PART  OF  THE  OLD  FORTIFICATIONS  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  \\9 

of  the  party,  a  girl  of  fifteen,  accompanied  by  her 
mother,  rather  shocked  our  staid  American  sense  of 
propriety  by  smoking  cigarettes  all  day  on  deck.  For 
Lours  we  were  interested  spectators  of  the  slowly 
receding  shores  with  the  imposing  minarets  and  domes 
of  Stamhoul  growing  fainter  and  fainter  as  distance 
widened.  \Ve  soon  left  astern  the  old  fortifications  and 
the  Princess  Islands,  formerly  abounding  in  churches 
and  monasteries,  in  which  latter  dethroned  royalty  and 
princes  of  the  court  out  of  favor  were  wont  to  find 
asylum.  Soon,  too,  we  found  ourselves  on  the  Sea  of 
Marmora  and  out  of  sight  of  land,  then  passing  through 
the  Hellespont  into  the  Aegean  Sea,  and  by  midnight 
approaching  the  Cyclades,  our  course  lying  between  tbe 
sacred  island  of  Delos  and  tbe  island  of  Naxos — tbe 
scene  of  tbe  legend  of  Ariadne. 

February  Twenty-eigbtb. 

j    HE  coast  line  of  Greece  is  at  once  majestic,  rugged, 

superb !      Gleaming  white   marble  temples  dating 

back  to  tbe  era  of  mythology  crown  its  summits.     Scene 

and  perspective  are    imposing    and    inspiriting,  and  seem 

naturally  to    put   on    tbe  vestment  of  mystery,  bence  it 


120  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

may  be  said  that  the  obsessions  of  the  ancient  Greeks 
•were  not  lacking  natural  inspiration.  In  due  time  we 
anchored  in  front  of  the  Piraeus,  from  which  point  the 
Acropolis  at  Athens  ana  Mount  Lycahettus,  six  miles 
distant,  are  clearly  visible.  In  medieval  times  the 
Piraeus  was,  by  reason  of  its  marble  lion  on  which 
Asmund  inscribed  in  runic  characters  the  victory  of 
Haalcon  over  the  Greeks,  known  as  Porto  Leone<* 
Since  the  seventh  century,  however,  this  historic  lion 
has  occupied  a  position  in  front  of  the  arsenal  at  Venice. 
Arriving  on  Sunday,  we  were  put  through  the  Custom 
Mouse  -without  loss  of  time,  and  loading  our  baggage 
into  a  landau,  began  the  drive  to  Athens.  On  the  way 
there  we  encountered  a  Greek  funeral  procession,  with 
priests  in  embroidered  robes  leading,  folio-wed  in  due 
order  by  young  ecclesiastics  bearing  large  candles  and 
banners.  The  deceased,  clothed  in  his  holiday  gar- 
ments, -with  a  -wreath  of  white  artificial  flowers  en- 
circling his  head,  his  hands  crossed  upon  his  breast — in 
each  hand  an  orange — is  borne  on  a  stretcher,  -while 
the  mourners  walk  alongside.  Later,  in  Athens,  -we 
saw  several  more  funerals ;  in  one  case — that  of  a 
brother  and  sister — following  an  ancient  custom,  the 


ACROPOLIS  OF  ATHENS  FROM  PHALERUM  ROAD. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J2J 

woman  who  had  prepared  tke  bodies  for  burial  broke 
tke  china  bowl  vised  for  tbe  purpose  in  the  gateway 
prior  to  the  exit  of  the  funeral  cortege*?* After  a  Greek 
funeral  it  is  customary  for  relatives  ana  friends  to 
return  to  tke  kouse  for  refreskment.  Piraeus  is  con- 
nected witk  Atkens  ky  tke  Pkalerum  road,  a  beautiful 
avenue  witk  pepper  trees  lining  kotk  sides  of  tke  drive- 
way. Tkis  splendid  road  -was  tke  gift  of  a  rick  Greek, 
tke  same  wko  contributed  four  kundred  tkousand  dollars 
to  tke  restoration  in  white  marble  of  tke  ancient  Stadium. 
Our  Isadora  Duncan  kas  a  pretty  villa  near  Atkens, 
where  ske  practices  and  teackes  Greek  dances.  Atkens 
is  a  clean,  well-built  city.  W'e  found  tke  Hotel 
Angleterre  on  tke  **  Syntogma"  or  Place  de  la  Consti- 
tution very  comfortable  indeed.  ^7c  were  assigned  as 
a  kedroom  a  grand  salon  furnished  with  numerous  pieces 
of  statuary,  gilt  mirror,  Frenck  clock,  wkite  markle 
mantel,  divans,  desk  and  otker  articles  of  necessity  and 
luxury,  including  two  excellent  keds  and  a  ckeery 
crackling  grate  fire  *9* John  Metaxatos  proved  to  ke  an 
excellent  Greek  guide.  Our  first  visit  under  his  guid- 
ance was  to  tke  Temple  of  tke  Olympian  Zeus,  described 
ky  Aristotle  as  a  work  of  "  despotic  grandeur  '  and  ky 


J22  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Livy  as  "  templum  unum  in  terris,  inchoatum  pro  mag- 
nitudint  dei\"  and  was  the  second  largest  Greek  temple 
known.  A  few  of  the  original  one  hundred  and  four 
Corinthian  columns  still  are  standing  in  the  original 
great,  open,  space  near  the  center  of  the  city  popularly 
known  as  "At  the  Columns,  and  is  a  favorite  summer 
evening  resort.  As  the  water  course  of  the  ancient 
town  at  this  point  flowed  into  the  Illissos,  chroniclers 
naturally  recorded  it  as  the  spot  where  the  last  of  the 
waters  of  the  Deluge  finally  subsided.  A  Stylites  or 
pillar  hermit  dwelt  for  years  on  the  top  of  the  epistyle, 
obtaining  food  by  letting  down  a  basket,  which  was 
regularly  filled  -with  provisions  by  the  pious  and  charit- 
able. Passing  through  the  Arch  of  Hadrian  near  by, 
we  took  carriage  to  the  ruins  under  the  south  side  of 
the  Acropolis,  beginning  with  the  Theatre  of  Bacchus 
(Dionysius);  the  cradle  of  Greek  dramatic  art  and  the 
spot  on  which  the  master-pieces  of  Aeschylus,  Sophocles, 
Euripides  and  Aristophanes  were  produced,  to  the  de- 
light of  their  audiences.  The  theatre  site  was  well 
chosen,  with  its  great  semicircles  of  seats  tiered  above 
each  other  facing  the  sea.  The  seats  of  honor  consisted  of 
marble,  and  were  located  in  the  front  row.  Upon  them 


TEMPLE  OF  OLYMPIAN  ZEUS,  ATHENS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J23 

was  offically  inscribed  the  owners  names  two  hundred 
B.  C.  A  centrally  located  chair  of  marble  beautifully 
carved  was  reserved  to  the  priest  of  Bacchus  himself. 
During  tne  Roman  era  a  low  marble  -wall  was  built 
around  tbe  orchestra,  either  for  confinement  of  the 
wild  beasts  that  took  part  in  gladiatorial  events  or 
for  the  confinement  of  water  on  which  to  produce 
miniature  naval  battles.  The  fundamental  idea  of  the 
New  York  Hippodrome  undoubtedly  was  borrowed 
from  these  ancient  creations.  Next  to  the  theatre  and 
facing  south,  sheltered  from  the  winds  of  the  north  by 
the  Acropolis,  is  the  Temple  Sanitarium  of  that  Greek 
scholar  of  medicine  Aesculapius,  who  dedicated  his 
altar  to  Hygeia  and  other  health  divinities.  A  portion 
of  the  building  was  enclosed,  -while  part  of  it  consisted 
of  an  open  colonnade  where  -worshippers  also  slept.  His 
principal  treatment  comprised  air  and  water,  with  pure 
honey  for  breakfast.  At  the  back  of  the  stoa  or  portico 
is  the  chalybeate  spring,  around  -which  a  shrine  has  been 
built  and  -which  pilgrim  Greeks  still  visit  to  drink  its 
•water,  said  to  be  specially  efficacious  in  cases  of 
stomach  disease.  \Ve  passed  between  a  mass  of  col- 
umns in  ruins,  and  the  Stoa  Eumenia  which  formed  a 


J24  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

covered  colonnade  between  the  Theatre  of  Dionysius 
and  the  Odeon — formerly  a  roofed  tkeatre  for  musical 
performances  built  by  Herodes  Atticus  in  memory  of 
kis  wife  Regilla.  We  drove  to  tne  top  of  the  Pnyx, 
not  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  front  of  the  Propylea,  the 
place  in  ancient  Athens  -where  the  people  met  to  delibe- 
rate and  vote  on  public  affairs,  thence  to  Mars  Hill 
(Areopagus),  a  rocky  plateau  a  short  distance  below, 
where  St.  Paul  preached  to  the  Athenians  Fifty-four 
A.  D.,  of  which  an  account  is  given  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  \Ve  were  much 
interested  in  the  ruins  of  a  Christian  church  dedicated 
to  the  Areopagite — Paul  s  first  convert  in  Athens — 
and  the  caves  in  the  sides  of  the  Acropolis  connected 
with  so  many  stories  of  Pan ;  the  Lysistrata  of  Aris- 
tophanes, Apollo  and  Ion.  The  ancient  court  of  the 
Areopagus,  which  exercised  supreme  jurisdiction  in  all 
cases  of  life  and  death,  held  its  sittings  on  this  hill.  On 
our  -way  back  we  stopped  at  the  prison  cave  of  Socrates 
in  the  solid  rock  of  the  Hill  of  the  Muses.  The  best 
preserved  temple  in  Greece  is  that  of  Theseus,  the  hero 
of  Athens.  It  is  of  Doric  architecture,  surrounded  by 
columns,  standing  majestic  in  an  open  square.  It  is  built 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J25 

entirely  of  Pentelic  marble,  now  weathered  to  a  golden 
yellow.  It  is  a  peripheral  hexastyle  in  antis  and  stands 
upon  a  marble  stylobate  raised  two  feet  from  the  ground. 
^iVe  crossed  the  dry  bed  of  the  Illissos  and  were  shown 
the  place  where  old  Boreas  so  rudely  disturbed  Orei- 
thyea  in  her  botanical  studies.  \Ve  were  reminded 
that  here  Plato  laid  the  scene  of  his  Phaedros  where 
the  talkers  rested  on  the  soft  turf,  listened  to  the  song 
of  the  cicadas,  the  stream  flowing  at  their  feet,  and 
enjoyed  the  fragrance  of  the  plane  trees  overhead  and 
the  refreshing  breezes  blowing  from  the  sea.  The 
Stadium— the  scene  of  the  Panathenean  games — is  in- 
deed interesting.  It  lies  in  a  natural  hollow  formed  by 
surrounding  hills.  Three  hundred  and  thirty-one 
B.  C.  Lycurgus  formally  leveled  this  space  and  built  a 
spectators  wall  around  it.  In  the  second  century 
Atticus  filled  the  slopes  with  rows  of  marble  seats,  and 
in  the  year  Eighteen  Hundred  and  Ninety-six  a  Greek 
gentleman  named  Averhoff  emulated  the  Roman  bene- 
factor Herodes  Atticus  by  renewing  the  Stadium  in 
marble  and  by  stimulating  anew  expositions  of  the  an- 
cient games  of  Greece.  The  Stadium  constitutes  a 
stretch  of  dazzling  white  marble  seven  hundred  feet  in 


J26  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

length  and  one  hundred  ana  thirty  feet  wide,  with 
seating  capacity  for  fifty  thousand.  To-day  we  saw 
some  runners  practicing  on  the  track.  The  costume 
of  the  Greek  soldier  is  the  antithesis  of  generally  ac- 
cepted military  uniforms,  and  is  suggestive  of  some- 
thing more  hefitting  a  fancy  dress  masquerade  perform- 
ance than  caparison  suited  to  the  sanguinary  art  of 
war-oThe  Greek  regulation  uniform  comprises  a  pair 
of  -white  cotton  tights,  a  short,  very  full  white  hallet 
skirt  showing  -well  ahove  the  knee,  gaiters  -with  flowing 
red  silk  tassels  to  match  red  slippers  cut  low  and  orna- 
mented with  large  pompons  on  the  upturned  toes,  a  gay 
colored  sash  into  which  are  stuck  knives  and  pistols,  an 
emhroidered  holero  jacket  over  a  -white  shirt  with 
voluminous  flowing  sleeves,  and  a  skull  cap  of  red  cloth 
suspended  from  the  crown  of  which  swings  a  dark  hlue 
tassel  extending  helow  the  shoulders.  The  costumes  of 
the  women  are  conspicuous  for  very  gay  colors  and 
elaborate  needlework  trimmings.  The  Greeks  appear 
to  he  a  happy,  contented  race  of  people,  and  in  this 
respect  might  -well  he  emulated  hy  the  Occidental-*"* 
The  King's  Palace  is  situate  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
surrounded  hy  heautiful  gardens.  His  Majesty  is  very 


GREEK  SOLDIER. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J27 

confident  of  the  love  of  lus  subjects,  ana  rides  forth  on 
horseback  without  escort  or  attendants.  Our  hotel,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  square,  faces  the  King  s  Palace. 

March  First. 

yk  NOTHER  -warm  day,  -with  brilliant  sunshine, 
clear  air  and  glorious  views  of  the  surrounding 
mountain  panoramas.  The  quarries  of  Pentelic  marble 
are  plainly  visible  on  one  slope,  while  the  blue  waters 
of  the  bay  of  Salamis  seem  hardly  ten  miles  distant. 
Again  we  take  our  guide  and  carriage  for  a  visit  to 
the  place  de  luxe  of  history — the  Acropolis.  Ancient 
Athens  was  built  around  the  base  of  this  high  plateau, 
upon  which  stood  the  glory  and  pride  of  the  Hellenic 
world — the  Pantheon.  Originally  the  Acropolis  must 
have  been  a  hill-fortress  like  that  of  Xroy.  Its  position 
on  a  hill  and  at  safe  distance  from  sea  attack  rendered  it 
ideal,  and  from  its  overlooking  height  enabled  it  to  pro- 
tect adjacent  property,  ^^e  entered  the  Acropolis 
through  the  Propylaea,  which  is  approached  by  way  of 
a  long  flight  of  steps  flanked  on  either  side  by  ruins  of 
temples,  pedestals,  and  balustrades,  and  occupying  the 
whole  of  the  western  side.  This  building,  famous  in 


J2S  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

antiquity  as  being  the  greatest  production  in  civil  archi- 
tecture in  Athens,  was  built  of  Pentelic  marble,  on  the 
Ionic  order.  Four  Hundred  and  Thirty-seven  B.  C. 
Next  adjoining,  perched  upon  a  jutting  ledge  of  rock, 
if  the  exquisite  small  temple  of  Nike,  erected  in  com- 
memoration of  the  battle  of  Platea  -which  resulted  in 
driving  the  Persians  out  of  Greece.  Here  an  enchanting 
panorama  is  presented  to  view«J*It  -was  here  Byron  got 
his  inspiration  for  the  third  canto  of  "  The  Corsair : " 

"  Slow  sinks,  more  lovely  ere  his  race  he  run 

Along  Morea's  hills  the  setting  sun  ; 

Not,  as  in  Northern  climes,  obscurely  bright. 

But  one  unclouded  blaze  of  living  light ! 

O  er  the  hush  d  deep  the  yellow  beam  he   throws, 

Glides  the   green  -wave,  that  trembles  as  it  glows. 

On  old  Retina  s  rock,  and  Idra  s  isle. 

The  God  of  gladness  sheds  his  parting  smile ; 

O  er  his  own  religious  lingering,  loves  to  shine. 

Though  there  his  altars  are  no  more  divine. 

Descending  fast  the  mountain  shadows  kiss 

Thy  glorious  gulf,  unconquer  d   Salamis ! 

Their  azure  arches  through  the  long  expanse 


THE   PROI'YI.AEA,  ATHENS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J29 

More  deeply  purpled  meet  his  mellowing  glance. 
And  tenderest  tints,  along  their  summits  driven, 
Mark  his  gay  course,  and  own  the  hues  of  heaven ; 
Till  darkly  shaded  from  the  land  and  deep. 
Behind  his  Delphian  cliffs  he  sinks  to  sleep." 

It  is  said  that  here  King  Aegens  stood  in  order  to  catch 
the  first  glimpse  of  the  ship  returning  from  Crete  with 
his  son  Theseus.  Unhappily  Theseus  forgot  to  display 
the  white  sail — the  agreed  emblem  of  victory  over 
the  Minotaur — and  his  aged  father  interpreting  the 
black  sail  to  mean  the  death  of  his  son,  threw  himself 
headlong  from  the  promontory.  Fragments  of  sculp- 
tures from  the  balustrade  are  on  exhibition  in  the 
Acropolis  Museum,  the  best  known  of  which  is  **  Vic- 
tory Stooping  to  Tie  Her  Sandal.  '  In  the  open  space 
between  the  Propylaea  and  the  Parthenon  once  stood 
the  great  statue  of  Athena.  It  was  colossal  in  size, 
made  of  bronze  by  Phidias.  During  a  Turkish  in- 
vasion it  was  carried  to  Constantinople  and  finally 
destroyed  in  a  riot.  As  we  cross  the  Acropolis 
the  Parthenon,  kk  House  of  the  Virgin,"  dedicated  to 
Minerva — the  most  perfect  monument  of  ancient  art — 


J30  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

faces  us  in  majestic  ruin.  It  was  dedicated  to  the  virgin 
goddess  Atkena  Parthenos,  whose  statue,  placed  in 
tke  cella,  consisted  of  -wood,  on  \vkick  tke  figure  -was 
modeled  out  of  some  plastic  material  and  skeatked  witk 
ivory  plates  to  represent  tke  nude  portion  of  tke  statue, 
gold  keing  used  for  tke  drapery.  At  tke  extremes  it 
skows  eigkt  gigantic  columns  and  at  tke  sides  seventeen — 
a  proportion  of  perfect  symmetry.  Tke  crowning  ckarm 
of  tke  Partkenon  was  evidenced  in  tke  sculpture  work 
wkick  completed  and  decorated  it,  color  keing  every- 
wkere  freely  used,  traces  of  wkick  still  remain.  Of  tke 
metopes  on  tke  Partkenon  less  tkan  kalf  remain;  some 
kave  found  a  kome  in  tke  British  Museum,  some  in  tke 
Acropolis  Museum,  some  in  tke  Museum  at  Munick 
and  one  in  tke  Louvre.  During  tke  sixtk  century  after 
Ckrist  tke  Partkenon  was  turned  into  a  Cknstian 
ckurck,  and  in  tke  fifteentk  century  it  kecame  a  mosque. 
Tke  minaret,  kuilt  during  tke  kated  Turkisk  occu- 
pation, has  keen  pulled  down  jt  In  tke  seventeentk 
century  it  was  used  ky  tke  Turks  as  a  powder  maga- 
zine, and  during  tke  siege  ky  tke  Venetians  was  acci- 
dentally blown  up,  otkerwise  it  i*  likely  tkat  it  would 


THE   PARTHENON,  ATHENS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J3J 

have  been  preserved  in  good  condition  to  the  present 
day.  TKc  ErecKtKeum  was  the  third  largest  temple,  and 
contained  many  shrines.  The  Caryatides  porch — or 
Porch  of  the  Maidens — consisted  of  six  female  figures 
supporting  the  entablature,  the  Lead  dresses  of  tKe  figures 
forming  as  it  were  the  capitals  of  the  columns.  This 
temple  occupies  the  ancient  site  on  -which  tKe  strife  be- 
tween Athena  and  Poseidon  for  possession  of  Athens 
was  decided ;  recalled  Ky  tKe  olive  tree  still  growing 
there.  A.  belvedere  projects  from  a  far  corner  of  tKe 
Acropolis,  from  which  tKe  alluring  view  includes  tKe 
entire  city  of  Athens  below,  completely  girdled  Ky 
mountains,  between  which  glimpses  of  tKe  Klue  Aegean 
Sea,  tKe  road  to  Marathon,  tKe  King  s  Gardens,  and  tKe 
white  Stadium  gleaming  in  tKe  sun  like  crystals  of  cut  loaf 
sugar  are  Kad,  while  Keyond,  looming  in  lonely  grandeur. 
Mount  Lycabettus  bears  at  tKe  dizzy  height  of  eight 
hundred  feet  a  Greek  monastery.  To  tKe  left  is  tKe 
green  Kill  of  Plato's  Groves  of  Academus  ;  nearer  to  tKe 
heart  of  tKe  city  stands  tKe  ruins  of  Hadrian's  Market, 
which  must  Kave  furnished  an  imposing  arcade  of  Doric 
columns.  Nearby  is  tKe  "  Tower  of  AVinds,"  from 
which  an  oracle  formerly  directed  affairs  of  mariners. 


J32  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Another  function  of  the  tower  was  that  of  -water 
clock,  a  dial  cut  in  the  stone  floor  being  regulated  by 
•water  flowing  through  grooves.  The  Monument  of 
Lysicrates,  popularly  known  as  the  **  Lantern  of  Dio- 
genes, and  formerly  one  of  an  entire  street  of  tripods 
dating  hack  to  Three  Hundred  and  Thirty-five  B.  C. — 
of  -which  present  remains  constitute  the  base  only — is 
the  oldest  extant  structure  of  the  Corinthian  order  of 
architecture.  Once  it  -was  used  as  the  library  of  a 
Capuchin  monastery,  and  on  the  occasion  of  Lord 
Byron  a  visit  to  the  Capuchins  he  occupied  it  as  a  study. 
The  ground  on  which  this  monument  stands  is  owned  by 
France.  After  assimilating  this  feast  of  sight  seeing 
•with  our  luncheon  at  the  Hotel  Angleterre,  we  spent 
the  afternoon  driving  leisurely  about  in  an  open  landau 
and  in  visiting  the  Queen  s  School  for  Poor  Children 
and  the  Museum  of  Grecian  Excavations.  Athens  is 
pre-eminently  the  home  of  vases  of  the  best  period  of 
that  art.  "We  looked  in  upon  a  session  of  Parliament 
before  driving  out  to  the  Dipylon — a  double  gateway 
forming  the  principal  entrance  to  classic  Athens — and 
to  the  street  of  tombs  outside  the  Dipylon,  the  only 
street  of  the  kind  in  Greece,  -where  famous  sculptures. 


THE  MONUMENT  OF  LYSICRATES,  ATHENS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J33 

such  as  tke  Apis  Bull,  and  funeral  vases  on  one  of 
which  Charon  is  depicted  approaching  the  funeral  ban- 
quet  to  ferry  away  the  soul  of  the  deceased,  and  the 
equestrian  monument  of  a  young  warrior  who  fell  in 
action  at  Corinth,  Three  Hundred  and  Ninety-four 
B.C.,  represented  in  the  act  of  striking  down  his  adver- 
sary, offer  -wonders  to  the  eye«J*The  well  ahove  the 
cemetery  is  very  ancient,  and  water  from  that  source 
probably  was  employed  in  funeral  ceremonies,  ^/e 
visited  the  Library  and  the  Academy ,  both  of  which 
are  modern  buildings  of  inferior  architecture.  In  pass- 
ing the  prison  we  were  surprised  at  the  curious  sight  of 
prisoners  with  their  arms  thrust  through  the  double 
grated  -windows  idly  dangling  strings  of  pastime  beads 
at  the  passers  by. 


J34  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

March   Second. 

HIS  morning  was  passed  idling  about  the 
shops,  Witt,  however,  an  eye  single  to 
souvenirs,  ana  later  we  successfully  re- 
peated the  prandial  operation  of  Laving 
a  hamper  of  luncheon  made  up  at  the 
delicatessen  shop,  along  with  a  bottle 

of  Greek  wine  and  some  French  mineral  water.  The 
carriage  was  ready  at  eleven  o  clock,  and,  after  saying 
good-bye  to  Mr.  Plant — a  fellow-passenger  on  the 
"  Cedric,"  who  is  kere  for  a  six  months  cruise  on  tbe 
Mediterranean  in  his  private  yacbt — and  tbanking  bim 
for  a  courteous  invitation  to  join  tbe  yachting  party, 
we  started  via  tbe  Sacred  \Vay — portions  of  wbich  are 
cut  out  of  solid  rock — for  Eleusis,  whose  roadside 
shrines  and  fertile  valleys  adorn  tbe  distance  to  tbe  Bay 
of  Salamis.  Except  for  its  ruins  the  town  of  Eleusis 
is  uninteresting.  Mere  Aeschylus  was  born.  So  great 
an  area  covered  with  masses  of  masonry  bear  testimony 
to  tbe  vast  size  of  tbe  temple.  Its  mystery-rite  proba- 
bly took  place  around  tbe  columns  in  tbe  center  of  tbe 
ball,  while  tbe  worshippers  sat  around  on  tbe  8teps*J*Tne 
ritual  was  composed  chiefly  of  a  mystery  play  repre- 


CORINTH  CANAL. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J35 

seating  tlie  kereafter,  tke  entire  celebration  occupying 
several  Jays,  including  preliminary  purification  at 
Athens  and  a  procession  thence  along  tke  Sacred  \Vay. 
In  tke  underground  chambers  of  tke  temple  it  is  sup- 
posed tkat  life  in  Hades  -was  enacted.  From  Eleusis 
we  went  ky  train  to  Corintk,  a  skort  journey  tkrougk 
well  cultivated  country.  At  tke  dizzy  keigkt  of  one 
kundred  and  sixty  feet  we  passed  over  tke  Corintk 
Canal,  cut  tkrougk  solid  rock.  AVe  found  tke  Grand 
Hotel  Bretagne  kere  to  ke  one  of  tke  satisfactory 
features  of  our  trip.  Its  proprietor  enjoys  a  remark- 
akle  faculty  for  making  friends,  and  kis  manner  kespeaks 
cordial  sincerity.  Acro-Corintk  is  tke  old  walled 
citadel  at  tke  very  summit  of  a  kigk  mountain,  kalf  an 
kour  s  drive  from  tke  new  town  of  Conntk<<VTo-nigkt 
we  enjoyed  ckatting  ky  tke  fire  witk  our  ton  if  ace, 
filling  kim  replete  witk  stories  of  tke  tall  buildings  in 
New  York  and  watckmg  kis  amazementoHe  told  us 
ke  kad  kad  as  guests  President  Roosevelt's  daugkter 
Alice,  also  President-elect  TafVs  krotker  Ckarles. 
Our  kedroom  -was  supplied  witk  keat  from  an  open 
charcoal  krazier,  tke  fumes  of  wkick  migkt  kave  pro- 
vided two  involuntary  American  victims  for  a  Greek 


J36  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

funeral  had  not  the  proprietor,  his  wife  ana  wife  s 
mother,  together  with  manservant  and  maidservant 
(omitting  the  ungulates  and  the  stranger)  appeared  on 
tke  scene  at  midnight  and  bodily  removed  the  murderous 
brazier. 

March  TKird. 

yk  S  a  fare-well  remembrance  the  proprietor  has  given 
us  a  valuable  little  ceramic  horse,  excavated  from 
one  of  tke  tombs  at  Corinth,  doubtless  buried  with  the 
deceased  during  that  prehistoric  period  -when  it  -was 
customary  to  provide  the  departed  with  specialties  for 
use  in  the  next  world.  Two  hours  ride  from  Corinth 
along  the  imposing  coast  line  of  Greece  brought  us  to 
the  seaport  city  of  Patras.  On  one  side  is  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth  and  on  the  other  side  a  range  of  rugged  moun- 
tains*** \Ve  spent  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  exploring  the 
interesting  streets  of  Patras,  where  in  the  open  door- 
ways of  the  restaurants  we  saw  sheep-barbecues.  In 
one  of  the  shops  where  we  were  admiring  -what  we 
supposed  -was  tapestry  for  curtain  borders  with  Greek 
inscriptions,  we  were  told,  to  our  surprise,  that  they 
were  Greek  swaddling  bands  for  infants.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  dinner  we  went  on  hoard  the  Italian  steamer 


PRINCIPAL   SQUARE  OF  PATROS. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  137 

"  Electrico,"  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  oy  which 
boat  we  bad  taken  passage  for  Italy.  Several  besides 
ourselves  are  crossing  by  tbis  boat,  including  tbe  wire  or 
tbe  Frencb  Consul.  Xbis  lady  bas  been  tbe  recipient 
of  thousands  of  violets  of  every  variety — bunches  too 
large  for  one  person  to  carry.  This  is  the  height  of 
the  violet  season  here.  An  Italian  youth  who  sits  at 
our  table  confided  that  he  is  private  messenger  to  the 
King  of  Italy,  and  indeed  his  credentials  are  very 
interesting. 

March  Fourth. 

INAUGURATION  DAY,  and  a  new  President 
of  the  United  States !  A  hearty  welcome  to  you 
Hon.  \Villiam  Howard  Taft ! !  !  Over  here  everyone 
who  reads  is  full  of  the  subject  of  ex-President  Roose- 
velt 8  African  hunting  trip,  and  he  who  "  waits  is 
consequently  demanding  increased  backsheesh.  \Ve 
incline  to  think  that  T.  R.  will  not  stand  macing  for 
tips-<"*During  the  night  -we  passed  the  Island  of  Ithaca, 
where  Ulysses  reigned  and  Penelope  spun.  The  ap- 
proach to  the  Island  of  Corfu  -was  made  to-day  under 
favorable  conditions.  The  profuse  and  beautiful  vege- 


J38  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

tation  of  the  island  as  seen  under  blue  sky  and  brilliant 
sunshine  is  most  attractive.  Near  the  shore  the  euca- 
lyptus and  many  sub-tropical  plants  flourish  luxuriantly. 
Our  steamer  passed  beneath  tne  frowning  battlements, 
jutting  out  into  the  sea,  of  the  Fortezza  Veccbia.  Near 
the  moutk  of  the  old  harbor  the  sea  exposes  some  rocks, 
one  of  which  is  called  the  Ship  of  Ulysses,  in  allusion 
to  the  traditional  turning  of  Ulysses  ship  into  stone  by 
Poseidon.  Again  we  were  taken  off  in  small  boats, 
and  on  arriving  at  the  quay  found  excellent  equipages 
in  goodly  number  at  command.  An  old  guide — retired 
from  the  army — insisted  on  our  employing  him,  and 
\vhile  his  English  was  very  poor,  he  was  thorough  in 
showing  us  all  places  of  interest.  The  population 
of  the  town  includes  a  mixture  of  Greeks,  Latins  and 
Jews,  while  the  buildings  show  evidence  of  British 
protectorate.  Along  the  Strada  the  walk  is  very  pic- 
turesque, but  it  is  unfortunate  that  near  the  old  Vene- 
tian fort  the  sea  -wall  is  crumbling  in  decay.  Located 
in  the  town  is  the  interesting  church  of  St.  Spindion, 
the  body  of  which  saint  is  preserved  in  a  silver  casket, 
inlaid  with  jewels,  of  wonderful  workmanship,  before 
which  pass  a  continuous  line  of  devotees  kissing  its 


SHIP  OF  ULYSSES,  FROM  THE  Oi.n  HARBOR. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J39 

nameplate  and  ikon.  On  certain  memorial  ana  special 
occasions  the  tody  of  St.  Spiridion  is  carried  through 
the  town  in  solemn  procession,  on  one  of  which  occa- 
sions its  presence  is  said  to  have  caused  tne  plague — 
epidemic — to  cease.  To  an  American  the  shops  here 
offer  little  of  interest,  so  after  early  luncheon  at  the 
hotel  St.  George  we  took  a  long  drive  to  the  Villa 
Achillon,  formerly  the  favorite  residence  of  the  mar- 
tyred Empress  of  Austria.  The  roads  are  very  good, 
the  mountain  scenery  simply  entrancing,  and  tne  olive 
trees  particularly  fine  specimens.  Peasants  in  gaily 
colored  fabrics  labor  in  fields  and  by  roadsides  jf> 
Frequently  -we  were  constrained  to  exclaim  aloud  over 
the  heauty  of  nature's  perfect  carpet  of  blue  violets. 
\Vonderful,  wonderful  nature !  God  s  own  handi- 
work ! !  For  her  retreat  the  Empress  of  Austria 
selected  a  most  attractive  location,  overlooking  a  tropi- 
cal garden  of  rare  trees  and  flowers,  nestling  in  tne 
heart  of  which  is  her  Pompenan  villa,  "Jlfon  Repos? 
Tne  statuary  and  paintings  contained  in  this  villa  are  all 
suggestive  of  a  wounded  spirit.  Over  the  grand  stair- 
way a  painting  of  heroic  dimensions  shows  Achilles 
before  the  -walls  of  Troy  dragging  tke  dead  body  of 


MO  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

Hector  at  kis  chariot  wheels.  The  patio  or  open  inner 
court  of  the  villa  is  surrounded  by  life-size  marble 
figures  of  the  Muses,  with  background  of  columns  and 
foliage  of  deepest  green.  Descending  to  the  second 
terrace  one  passes  through  vine-covered  lattice  into  a 
garden  of  flowers,  palms  and  cypress  trees  leading 
to  a  circular  terrace  with  surrounding  balustrade  of 
marble.  In  the  center  of  the  open  space  is  a  huge 
sculpture  in  white  marble  of  the  wounded  Achilles, 
recumbent,  and  about  to  draw  the  arrow  from  his  heel. 
Tea  tables  and  seats  of  marble  lend  their  part  to  the 
charming  aggregation  found  in  this  beautiful  villa  look- 
ing directly  out  on  sea  and  harbor,  -with  the  town  of 
Corfu  in  the  distance  and  the  mountains  of  Albania 
visible  on  the  opposite  coast.  This  villa  and  royal 
gardens  have  been  acquired  by  the  present  German  Em- 
peror, and  are  visited  by  him  on  rare  occasions,  mean- 
while the  property  is  under  the  watchful,  all-seeing, 
overseeing  eye  of  a  German  intendant.  A  very  self- 
contained  German  maid  from  Berlin  showed  us  through 
the  grounds,  hut  put  her  flat  foot  flatly  down  on  our 
using  the  mute  and  innocent  kodak,  that  harmless  instru- 
ment of  retrospective  pleasure.  By  five  o  clock  we  had 


THE  GARDEN  OF  VII.T.A  ACHII.I.EON,  GORKI- 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY 


gotten  back  to  the  steamer  ana  soon  after  were  steaming 
across  the  Adriatic  Sea  toward  the  city  of  Bnndisi  in 
Italy. 

March  Fifth. 

opening  our  eyes  tkis  morning  we  discovered 
that  our  steamer  was  tied  up  to  a  great  stone 
pier  in  the  harbor  of  Bnndisi.  This  is  the  ancient 
Brindisium  of  the  Romans,  and  it  was  from  this  pier 
that  many  of  the  Crusaders  departed  for  the  Holy 
Land.  After  usual  Custom  House  formalities  we  drove 
to  the  station  to  take  train  for  Naples,  passing  over  Via 
Appia  and  by  the  house  in  which  Virgil  died.  The 
fertility  of  southern  Italy  is  shown  in  its  ability  to  pro- 
duce several  Kinds  of  crops  from  the  same  soil  at  the  same 
time  ;  for  example,  during  half  a  day's  observation  we 
passed  miles  of  tall,  well-pruned  mulberry  trees  fes- 
tooned from  tree  to  tree  with  grape  vines,  leaving  room 
between  for  a  practically  full  crop  of  vegetables  and 
cereals.  The  hundreds  of  miles  of  monotonous  groves 
of  olive  trees  with  their  gnarled  trunks  somehow  re- 
minded us  of  pictures  we  had  seen  of  the  condemned 
in  Dante  s  Inferno  —  the  seeming  counterpart^of  human 


J42  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

forms  distorted  by  agony  or  despair  •£* In  some  of  the 
groves  necessary  piers  of  stone  nave  been  erected  for 
support  to  the  old  ana  very  heavy  olive  branches. 
Getting  back  to  Naples  seems  almost  like  being  at  Lome 
again.  Our  carriage  threaded  its  way  through  crowded 
streets,  and  from  a  flower  vendor  who  ran  alongside 
we  bought  an  armful  of  violets  at  tbe  relatively  small 
cost  of  one  lira  or  twenty  cents,  and  for  tbe  fourtb 
time  registered  at  tbe  Hotel  Vesuve.  After  seeing 
our  baggage  safely  landed  in  our  apartments,  we  went 
at  once  for  mail,  finding  cable  messages  and  letters 
awaiting  us.  \Ve  bave  decided  to  sail  for  borne  to- 
morrow. 

Marcb  Sixth. 

INQUIRY  developed  tbe  fact  tbat  tbe  S.  S.  "  Fin- 
land" -will  sail  at  five  o  clock  this  afternoon.  \Ve 
engaged  passage  at  once,  then  visited  the  shops  for  some 
necessaries,  and  later  bade  regretful  adieu  to  our  good 
friends  the  \Vebsters,  who  have  been  such  delightful 
companions  throughout  the  greater  part  of  our  entire 
journeymgs«5*The  steamer  **  Finland  is  chartered  by 
the  White  Star  Line  to  take  the  place  of  the  ill-fated 


COLUMN  OF  THE  MARTYRS,  NAPLES. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J43 

"  Republic,"  but  as  she  is  sailing  rather  too  early  for 
the  homeward  tide  of  returning  travelers,  we  find  be- 
side ourselves  only  three  other  first  class  passengers. 
The  "  Finland,  '  built  by  Cramps  in  Philadelphia,  is  a 
modern  steamer  and  a  model  of  comfort  and  cleanliness. 
Her  displacement  snows  thirteen  thousand  tons,  and 
makes  a  much  more  satisfactory  passenger  boat  than  such 
a  leviathan  as  the  "  Cedric.  Finding  at  the  last  mo- 
ment that  the  sailing  hour  had  been  postponed  to  seven 
o  clock,  -we  went  ashore  again,  driving  to  the  Gallena 
Umberto  Primo  for  a  last  impression  of  Naples.  ^vVTiile 
looking  in  a  shop  window  we  saw  the  ^iVebsters  in  the 
act  of  parting  -with  their  birthright  for  a  mess  of  water 
colors,  so  we  postponed  that  consummation  by  taking 
them  back  to  the  steamer  in  our  carriage,  where  we  put 
in  the  remaining  time  encouraging  the  ragged  Neapoli- 
tan urchins  on  the  wharf  to  dance  and  sing  for  coppers. 
And  now,  after  a  last  au  revoir  to  the  ^Vebsters,  and 
by  the  light  of  the  full  moon  rising  over  Vesuvius, 
illuminating  the  bay  and  silhouetting  "  Fair  Ischia,"  and 
the  island  of  Capri  against  the  sky  line,  we  at  last  shove 
off  from  the  friendly  shore  of  "  Sunny  Italy,"  and 
occupy  our  minds  -with  things  practical,  such  as  arrang- 


144  A  WINTER  JOURNEY 

ing  our  stateroom  quarters  for  tne  trip  before  us-<"* 
Owing  to  tbe  small  number  of  first  class  passengers,  we 
bad  quite  a  varied  cLoice  of  quarters,  and  finally  selected 
a  suite  of  two  large  cabins  on  tne  upper  deck,  furnished 
with  double  beds  and  air  mattresses  (a  startling  evolution 
from  tne  bunks  of  earlier  sea-going  days).  Our  suite 
is  equipped  with  all  requisites,  including  writing  desks, 
lounges,  reading  lamps,  etc.  Connected  with  it  is  an 
artistic  modern  bathroom  fitted  with  every  up-to-date 
appurtenance — in  fact,  a  sort  of  plumbers  pride.  In- 
cluding tbe  Captain  and  officers,  we  muster  ten  in  tbe 
dining  salon,  but  notwithstanding  the  paucity  of  numbers 
the  menu  is  as  elaborate  and  tbe  orcbestra  as  enthusiastic 
in  its  ministrations  as  if  tbe  ten  were  ten  bundredo  Xbe 
perfect  quiet  and  rest  aboard  sbip  will  soon  be  converted 
into  tbe  noisy  burly-burly  of  a  large  city,  for  to-mor- 
row morning,  Marcb  nineteentb,  we  sball  be  due  at 
Greater  New  York,  and  a  City  \Vonderful  it  is  in- 
deed. Looking  backward  we  find  we  bave  traveled 
fifteen  tbousand  miles,  tbat  seven  of  tbe  ten  weeks  of 
our  absence  bave  been  spent  on  board  sbip,  and  tbat  our 
stops  bave  been  made  at  seaport  towns  on  Portugese, 
Englub,  Spanisb,  Italian,  Egyptian,  Syrian,  Turkisb 


THE  BAY  OF  NAPLES,  ITALY. 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY  J45 

and  Greek  territory.  It  may  be  asked,  \Vhat  experi- 
ences of  your  trip  nave  produced  deepest  impress  ?  Our 
answer  is  that  we  are  at  loss  to  discriminate.  In  turn 
we  might  inquire.  Is  the  Temple  of  Karnak  more  in- 
spiring than  the  Acropolis  at  Athens  ?-<"*Gentle  reader, 
you  have  been  generously  patient  with  us  in  our  various 
and  sundry  wanderings,  and  in  bidding  you  farewell  we 
shall  only  trespass  further  on  your  graciousness  to  the 
extent  of  quoting  an  illuminating  verse  from  the  poet 
Shelley's  "  Mutability,"  id  est: 

"  The  flower  that  smiles  to-day 
To-morrow  dies; 

All  that  we  wish  to  stay 
Tempts  and  then  flies  ; 

\Vhat  is  this  -world's   delight? 

Lightning  that  mocks  the  night, 

Brief  even  as  bright. 


